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A man who died from cancer still managed to surprise his seven best mates after his death - by secretly leaving them £3,500 for a group holiday.

Roger Brown, who had been friends with the group for 40 years, left them money with orders to go on a holiday together following his death.

Retired engineer and outdoor enthusiast Mr Brown had been a regular at the Vivian Arms in Swansea where he formed close bonds with John Harries, Bob Beynon, Gerallt Davies, Roger Rees, Ernie Macey, Roy Thomas and Peter Pelosi.

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Mr Rees told the Swansea Evening Post: “We all met at different times but all of us knew Roger for well over 40 years. We all come from Sketty, so it was natural, that as we are all of approximately the same age, we teamed up for various activities as growing adults.

“It was a complete surprise when Roger’s son, Sam, rang a few days after Roger’s funeral, to inform me that Roger had left £3,500 between the seven of us. The proviso being we all go to a European city for a weekend to spend his bequest.”

The seven friends decided on a trip to Berlin and have just returned from the visit.

Mr Rees added: “We would like to formally apologise to Roger’s two sons, Sam and Jack, for taking away some of their inheritance. We spent most of it on beer, the rest we wasted.”

He said Mr Brown loved the outdoors and all aspects of sport. As a talented cyclist he took part in many road races and he also played rugby for Dunvant.

His job saw him work in countries around the world including Canada and South Africa but he came to back to Swansea at the end of his career.

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In later life he enjoyed golf and bowls. Mr Rees said: “Perhaps his favourite pastime was sea fishing which provided the rest of us with plenty of opportunities for leg-pulling if not actual free fish.”

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer he remained active, completing his last 22-mile Macmillan Walk along the coast of his beloved Gower in 2011. He passed away in 2013, aged 67.

Mr Rees said: “As guys of a certain age with bus passes, Roger really enjoyed our days out visiting various local areas and hostelries, which must have given him the idea of his generous legacy to us.

“Roger was a humorous and inspiring friend greatly missed by all of us, and he was never far from our thoughts in Berlin.

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“He would have really enjoyed our sightseeing, punctuated by comfort stops at the various bars where we toasted his memory.

“Being a supremely fit man, in his prime, he would have enjoyed climbing the 285 steps of the Siegesaulle which was more than could be said for some of us.

“It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, graced by beautiful weather, lots of laughs and many memories. Thank you Roger.”