I have the most amazing memories from my childhood that will last forever. Some of my main memories are of my Grandparents who used to come down to West Wales from London and stay in a caravan over the road.

My Gran is amazing and the kindest person I have ever met. I could praise and talk about her for hours, but that's a different story. This is for my Granddad.

My Granddad is a gentle, quiet and kind man. My memories of growing up always include him in some form or another, be it walking in the park, reading in the sun or playing croquet in the back garden (he always won!).

He is also a very intelligent man and showed this from a young age. He actually won an Eisteddfod in Llangefni where he sang ‘The Ploughboy’s Song’ in Welsh, which he learnt phonetically at the age of 17. He was also a keen athlete and his forte was cross-country. He competed in many races for High Wycombe Grammar School and often won, beating the best in the county.

Following grammar school my Granddad attended Bangor University and later graduated with a degree in Physics.

After University he volunteered for the Royal Air Force (RAF) to become a pilot. He wasn’t called up, or asked to go, he actually volunteered. Being the man he was, and not taking anything half heartedly, he cycled all of the way from Anglesey to Denham alone in one day for medical testing. After passing all of the tests he joined the RAF, but wasn’t allowed to be a pilot because he was well educated and had a degree. It sounds a little strange, but the RAF pilot death rate was so high that they deemed it necessary to protect those with degrees to teach after the war. Not being deterred by this, his determination and persistence saw him enrol for the Air-sea Rescue (ASR) in 1942 where he served for 3 years throughout World War II.

While waiting to be demobbed in 1946, my Granddad taught Advanced Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry as an Instructor under the Royal Air Force Educational and Vocational Training Scheme which was set up to help prepare service personnel for post-war civilian employment. 

My Granddad was a very valued member of both the ASR and the Training Scheme, and a leaving letter sent to him by his Squadron Leader that I have uploaded to my pictures reiterates this. Do read it, it really shows how valuable an asset my Granddad was to both the Services and civil life. (If the picture is too small to read, please have a look at it by clicking here: Granddads Letter)

Shortly after being demobbed, my Granddad became a budding employee of the Fairey Aviation where he devised a method of making a vision/sight that was suitable for a radar frequency. This vision received enthusiastic reports from pilots, who stated that the device gave them a generous increase in the distance at which airborne targets could be located. Fairey went on to use the device for experimental aircraft and later went on to use it for fighter planes during the war.

At Fairey, my Granddad was also the earliest person to make printed wiring circuits, and designed and made transmitters for experimental rocket projectiles that were fired from the ground and air.

After the closure of the Fairey Aviation he was asked to work for the De Havilland’s Aircraft Company due to his success at Fairey. However, knowing that he could make more of himself, he decided to reject the offer and start his own business in 1962, calling it Jarzon Plastics. Jarzon plastics went on to become the first business to mould with nylon thermoplastics and this led to a great success that even saw the company featured in the ICI magazine.

My Granddad stayed running Jarzon Plastics with my Gran until they finally retired in 1982.

That is just a snippet of my Granddad’s life, the life of a gentleman with the knowledge to stun others in his field.

Unfortunately my Granddad acquired Alzheimer’s disease in 2003 and has been living with it for nearly 10 years. Alzheimer’s is a form of Dementia and it is horrible. I can't imagine what it must be like for my Granddad. It is soul destroying and sometimes when I sit with him I can see frustration in his eyes, but his gentle mannerisms would never show the frustration he must feel on a daily basis. 

He is no longer even able to dress himself, not due to any sort of physical condition (he is in fact very fit) but purely due to the dementia slowly taking over his brain. Up until very recently the only saving grace for all of us was that even though he was no longer able to recognise people, he was still able to play the piano. Sadly a couple of months ago he lost that ability, very quickly going from being able to play difficult pieces of music, to not knowing whether to push down or pull up the keys.

I guess the reason behind me wanting to tell you about my Granddad’s life is to show that this disease can affect anyone, destroying the way that even the cleverest of people think.

It is a sob story, but one told for a good cause. I am not trying to win a singing contest and do not want sympathy in any way. I have written this story so that you can gain an insight into the reason that I am trying to raise money for this cause.

I decided to tell this story too because I didn’t just want you to think I am doing this because I have to, because I don’t. I’m doing it because I want to help banish this horrible disease. I didn’t want you to feel as if I was just asking for money for a cause I don’t know a lot about, I currently live with my Grandparents and am reminded of this disease on a daily basis. This is personal to me, and I hope that you have realised this after my story. Not only that, I hope you enjoyed the story, because I feel proud to talk about what my Granddad has achieved.

I love my Granddad and hate the fact that he no longer remembers who I am. Even with constant prompts, he will never remember me as his Grandson, which is upsetting.

My Gran looks after my Granddad and I think she is the most amazing person in the world. To go through all of this and see the changes on a daily basis must have been incredibly upsetting. Yet she has soldiered through and cares for him every second of every day and it is the love she portrays towards him, when other people would have given up, that keeps my Granddad smiling.

So this is not only to raise money to help the people who are suffering like my Granddad, but also to help the people who are caring for loved ones, like my Gran.

Most of you who I send this letter to will know me, and know that I have long wavy hair. My hair is very precious to me, but to raise the most money possible for this cause I feel that I have to be bold. So, as well as the 12km Memory Walk, I have decided to shave my head. I will be doing it on the 15th of September (the day before the Memory Walk) and will be video recording it for you all to see.

Please do understand how much of a big deal this is, not only for me but for everyone who is currently suffering from dementia, be it the people who suffer directly from the disease or the people who care for those suffering.

All the best and thanks for taking the time to read this,

Jack Rawles