A GROUP of former military servicemen and their families got together in the spirit of the 1970s to climb Snowdon in memory of an RAF colleague who died from cancer last year.

Ex-RAF apprentices Barry Cox, Mike Little and Ted Sparrow met with the family members of Wally 'Watty' Grieve, who died of prostate cancer last year, at the bottom of Pen-y-Pass on Saturday, May 13, in memory of the man they had first met in the seventies.

"Watty was a good friend and colleague of the RAF Locking apprentices that joined the Royal Air Force on October 27, 1970," Mr Cox of Katherine Park, Corsham said: "A group of us had a reunion a few years ago and we kept in touch but unfortunately we lost Watty to prostate cancer last year 46 years to the day we all attested to the Royal Air Force.

"At the funeral we decided we wanted to do something in his memory and I came up with the idea of the Snowdon500 challenge, something Watty would have loved to participate in."

The group, who climbed to a total of 12,000ft during a 2.5 hour scramble to the top, raised more than £2,000 for the Prostate Cancer Research Centre to help fund improvements in treatment and the search for a cure.

"Snowdon is one of the most beautiful mountains in the UK and the weather was good for us," Mr Cox added. "His sons also brought up two of his walking sticks, which are more like staffs, and they came up the top with us as well."

Watty's wife Pam, daughter Alison and granddaughters Emily and Tamsin were there on the day to provide moral support.