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Family complete walk in memory of blind veteran grandad

Published on 18 Oct 2021

A family from North Wales took part in a 17 mile walk from Colwyn Bay to Prestatyn last month in memory of their grandad Griff Jones who sadly passed away due to Covid in September 2020.

Letitia Spencer from Prestatyn, took part in the walk alongside eight family members. She says:

“Blind Veterans UK meant so much to our Grandad and they gave him so many opportunities, equipment and trips that he spoke about every day. He would often go to their training and rehabilitation centre in Llandudno on holiday. He was a well-loved veteran there. We loved hearing all about his adventures when he came home”.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the family were unable to visit Griff when he was admitted to hospital last year but were able to communicate with him through his Synapptic mobile phone which was provided by the charity.

Members of blind veteran Griff's family, each posing on the giant concrete letter which spell out "Colwyn"
Blind veteran Griff's family at the Colwyn Bay sign at the start of their walk
“He was in hospital for two months and it was tough not being able to go and see him. Blind Veterans UK had given him a phone which they had trained him how to use so we contacted him through that. We couldn’t thank them enough for this!”
Letitia Spencer
Griff's granddaughter
Griff's great grandchildren smiling wearing memorial t-shirts
Griff's great grandchildren

As well as raising money, the walk gave the family a chance to come together and talk about all the memories that they had of their grandad. Letitia says:

“We loved doing the walk and talking about happy memories of our Grandad. His great grandchildren also took part in the walk and completed the full 17 miles! We will continue to help raise money in the future for Blind Veterans UK. We hope that this will help support other people and their families who may need support from Blind Veterans UK in the future”.

Blind veteran Griff's family, showing the back of their memorial t-shirts displaying text that says: Charity walk in memory of Griff Jones
Family wearing t-shirts which read on the back: Charity walk in memory of Griff Jones
Support Letitia's family
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Follow in Letitia’s family’s footsteps and raise funds for Blind Veterans UK by planning your own walk.

Those who sign up will receive lots of hints, tips, and digital resources to help them make their walk a success. Those raising over £100 per person will also receive a ‘March for veterans’ walking boot medal.

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