Weymouth charity ball to raise money in memory of soldier

Shelley Robertson from Weymouth was 23 weeks pregnant when her boyfriend, Royal Marine James Wright, was killed whilst serving in Afghanistan in 2011.

When their daughter Lily was born, Shelley received help from the charity Scotty's Little Soldiers.

The charity supports children who have lost a parent whilst serving in the Armed Forces and was there for Shelley and her daughter Lily in their hour of need.

Speaking about the charity, Shelley said: "Scotty's is such an incredible charity. All the children have created life long friendships through events put on by the charity, and it lets them all know that they are not alone.

"Lily knows that whenever we have a Scotty event, all the children are the same as her, and she instantly bonds with all the other children."

Shelley has hosted numerous events and fun days in recent years to raise money for the charity and has now announced the date for the third annual Scotty's Poppy Ball.

"This will be our third Poppy Ball raising money for Scotty's Little Soldiers," she said, "after the success of our first two years.

"Scotty's means so much to us and organising the Scotty's Poppy Ball is just a small way to repay Scotty's for all the help and support that Lily receives.

"Without events like this, Scotty's wouldn't be able to support the amount of bereaved children that they do, and we just like to show our appreciation."

This spectacular evening of entertainment and fundraising will be held on Saturday, November 16 in The Ocean Room at Weymouth Pavilion. It starts at 6.30pm and goes on late.

There will be live music and performances provided by the Daisy Chain Entertainment Group, magic from Dorset-based illusionist Chris Piercy and fun casino tables. The evening also includes a two course meal.

Tickets are £45 and are available through Sparkle Event Planning by emailing sparkleeventplanning@outlook.com.