GOLFING die hards took part in a 72- hole golfing marathon in memory of a friend who died from cancer.

John Rogers, who worked at technical manager at Colchester Fuel Injection for 38 years, died aged 67 from lung cancer, just two years after his retirement.

Five work colleagues successfully completed the golfing challenge to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support in recognition of the nurses who were due to help John before he died.

Paul Goldsmith, Scott Maul, Daniel Boley, Mat Gregory and Rory Goldsmith managed to raise £1,400 for John’s chosen charity.

The event was held at Clacton Golf Club, where Mr Goldsmith, from Clacton, is a member.

The team, who work at the business in Haven Road, Colchester, started the day at 4.20am and after walking thousands of steps and taking hundreds of shots finished at 8.30pm.

Mr Goldsmith said: “John was such a legend, he was like a dad to everybody.

“We were all deeply upset when he passed away so soon after his retirement, he was taken away from us far too early.”

John’s family, including his son Stefan, daughter Emma and wife Carole, went along to the golf club to offer their support.

Mr Goldsmith said: “His family are the loveliest you could meet, John would do anything for anybody and he was such a clever guy. I know he would be giving us a huge smile.

“”He was a fan of Macmillan as he was due to be looked after by the nurses. We did a fundraiser before the funeral and raised £500.”

The total length of the golf course was about 16 miles.

The weary group indulged in a well-deserved pint afterwards and said the effort was worth it for the money raised.

Mr Goldsmith said: “We are all golfers anyway but one you have done 18 holes and have walked five or six miles you are pretty exhausted.

“For the marathon we literally had to keep going for the whole day, it was brilliant.

“You couldn’t believe the feeling of satisfaction at the end, and I got slightly emotional making a toast to him, saying he would have been proud of us.”

Mr Goldsmith had travelled on business trips to America, Poland and Germany with John,and he said he had always been fantastic at his job.

To team hope to raise £1,500 and anyone who would like to donate is asked to visit www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/paul-goldsmith5.