Bromsgrove man Thomas to brave a hair and beard shave in memory of his dad

A BROMSGROVE man will brave the shave next month to raise funds and awareness for the British Lung Foundation in memory of his dad.
Thomas Jolley told the Standard: “I’ve been growing my hair for ten years and my beard for about three – so there’s a lot of people who would like to see them both go – there’s a big queue in fact.”
The 31-year old said he wants to shave his hair and beard to raise awareness and funds for the charity after losing his dad, Derek, 66, to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – a degenerative lung illness – on July 5 this year.
Thomas will face the clippers at George Davis Hairdressing in Bromsgrove, on November 16, which coincides with World COPD Day.
He said he first thought of the idea after his boss Barrie Beard died from an illness in October 2015.
He added: “Dad was in the final stage of his illness before he died.
“He always said there was not much publicity or awareness raised for the British Lung Foundation in comparison to other charities.
“I realised maybe it was one of his dying wishes to make more people realise what lung disease does, so I wanted to do this to help raise awareness.”
So far, friends and family have helped Thomas raise over £500 of his £1,000 target.
Speaking about his loss, Thomas said: “It’s all come at once to be fair, and it doesn’t get easier, you just live with it.
“Support from friends, family and work mates has been second to none and the respiratory nurses and ward staff at the Alex were absolutely fantastic.
“We can’t fault anything they did.”
Derek would have turned 67 on September 23 – almost three months before his 46th wedding anniversary to wife Kathleen, and just two days before Thomas’ 32nd birthday.
Visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/tomjolleyheadandbeard to support Thomas and help him raise funds for COPD.