A GENEROUS gift left to a South Lakeland charity in the will of a well-known teacher will enable the organisation to continue its good work.

When Eric Davies died at the age of 101 in June, he left £5,000 to the South Lakes Talking Newspaper Association.

Mr Davies was a maths teacher at Barrow Grammar School until his retirement in 1967, and was well remembered by his former pupils who continued to write to him at his home at Grange-over-Sands and later when he moved into a residential home at Cartmel.

As he grew older, however, Mr Davies's sight worsened because of a condition called Macular Degeneration, which affects the retina.

Despite the fact that he eventually became virtually blind and was unable to read, Mr Davies continued to indulge his passion for figures and impressed friends and family with his memory skills when playing dominos.

He also kept up to date with the current events by joining the South Lakes Talking Newspaper Association. The organisation records articles mainly from The Westmorland Gazette on to audiotapes, which are sent out free of charge to people living in the South Lakeland area with sight problems.

When Mr Davies died earlier this year, he left £5,000 in his will to the organisation. Chairman of the Kendal-based association, Bruce Carnaffin, explained that the talking newspaper relied on the work of volunteers and on donations to keep up its good work.

He added that the charity had been "delighted" to receive Mr Davies' gift and said it would be invaluable to the work of the organisation.

"We do have a lot of running expenses although we keep them down as low as possible."

He added that the money could help the association give a "better quality service" by helping install more efficient systems of issuing the tapes to users. It could also go towards paying for new computers to record the tapes digitally giving a clearer sound.

"I would like to say thank you to Mr Davies and his family the donation really was a splendid boost to the organisation."

Gillian Davies, whose husband Malcolm was Mr Davies's grandson, remembered the former teacher as a "lovely old man".

"Even after he had lost his sight, when he laughed his eyes still sparkled that was one of the things that I will always remember about him," she said.

- If you would like to make a donation to the South Lakes Talking Newspaper Association or know someone who would benefit from the service call Mr Carnaffin on 01539-720172.