Wiganer helping out old Army friend who lost wife to brain tumour

William Murray with wife Gemma and their daughter Goldie

Karl Mather, from Swinley, wants to help William Murray, who served in the 9 Supply Regiment based in Wiltshire with him.

Last month, William’s wife of almost six years Gemma died after a 26-month battle with a stage four brain tumour, leaving behind him and their 13-year-old daughter Goldie.

Her funeral has since taken place but William was left facing a bill of around £7,000.

After learning of his friend’s plight, Karl has decided to try and raise £4,000 to help fund the cost of the funeral, and has raised almost £2,000 already.

Karl, 39, who now works as an electrician and owns KDM Electrical, said: “I just want to help William out.

“He has no life insurance and needs to pay for the funeral himself.

“He only buried his wife recently which is awful, so I’ve set up the GoFundMe page.

“I’m pushing it everywhere on social media and I want to try and raise as much money as possible.”

And the kind-hearted electrician, who is well-known for helping elderly and vulnerable people by carrying out electrical works free of charge, has put £350 of his money into the pot.

He added: “I can’t imagine what he’s going through so the more money that can be raised and that people can donate the better.”

William thanked Karl for his fundraising efforts.

He said: “What Karl has done in setting up the fundraising page is fantastic.

“I just want to thank him and others who have donated money to help me in what has been a very difficult time.

To donate money visit the fundraising page ‘Gemma Murray’ which can be found by searching for KDM Electrical Ltd on Facebook.