THE League of Friends of Wellington Hospital has been presented with cheques totalling £1,320 from local organisations.

Wellington Lodge of The Masons chose the league as its charity for the year and through a succession of raffles at lodge meetings raised £600 which was presented to representatives of the league by Roger Tozer and Peter Stradling.

The lodge chose the league as its charity partly in memory of Mr Stradling’s late wife, who had been a patient at the hospital, and also the late Graham Jennings, a former lodge member who had been a stalwart member of the league.

The second donation came from Wellington Conservative Club which also nominated the league as its chosen charity for the year.

Conservative Club chairman Alan Martin and Roger Lane, chairman of the social committee, presented a cheque for £720 to league chairman Hilda Thornton and league treasurer John Bailey. The money was raised by members contributing their change etc across the bar.

Mrs Thornton said: “Speaking on behalf of my fellow trustees I’d like to say how grateful the league is to these local organisations for their support. This demonstrates how highly local people regard both Wellington Community Hospital and Stratfield House.”

League members are now gearing up for one of their main fundraisers, the annual summer fete at Wellington Prep School on Saturday, May 28.