Football legends gathered at The Chase Hotel in Ross-on-Wye, on January 26th for a fundraising dinner in memory of Dick Bate, a leading football coach, on an international level, and a former director of Ross Town FC.

Mr Bate, who died last year from a brain tumour, was a much respected member of the football world and a pitch at St George’s Park, the home of English football, has been named in his honour.

His widow, Maggie, wanted to do something personally to raise funds in memory of her husband, for the Giles Trust, a fund at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham that supports patients with brain tumours.

The hugely successful event at the Chase Hotel raised £47,500 and Maggie and her family are delighted.

After a personally recorded message from England manager, Gareth Southgate, who spoke about the part Dick played in his education as a coach, he handed over to Aidy Boothroyd, Manager of the England U21 team, to auction an exclusive trip to meet Gareth and the England team at their training ground, St Georges Park. The evening continued with Sean Dyche, Manager of Burnley, Keith Birkenshaw, one of the most successful Tottenham Hotspur Managers, and Malkay Mackay, Performance Director of the Scottish Football Association, all adding to the total by auctioning signed team shirts and hospitality packages.

To explain how the donations will be spent Consultant Neurosurgeon, Ismail Ughratdar, spoke about Artificial Intelligence and how Queen Elizabeth Hospital is hoping to raise £113,000 to fund groundbreaking research into AI for brain tumours.

Ashley Giles, Managing Director of England’s Men’s Cricket, explained that the Giles Trust was founded when his wife, Stine, was successfully treated for two brain tumours at the QEHB. He said the charity is vital to ensure further research is funded.

With the help of DJ Nigel Gaudion, who acted as Master of Ceremonies and auctioneer, Julie Bethell, of Dress to Impress who transformed the venue for the evening, Caz Holbrook who photographed the event and the staff of The Chase Hotel, Maggie raised an incredible total.

To find out more about the Giles Trust and hear Gareth Southgate talk about Dick Bate search @qehbcharity on social media. Maggie said:“I am so grateful to everyone at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, especially Consultant, Ismail Ughratdar, who treated Dick. I wanted to find a way to raise some money to support the work they do there for patients with brain tumours.”