Fundraising ball set to honour life of hero Ewan

The 35-year-old's life will be celebrated at the black-tie event organised by friends and held in the hotel where he once worked in the gym.

His mother Linda and sisters Rebecca and Rachel will be invited to the ball on 27 March, arranged to be close to what would have been Ewan's 36th birthday, 5 March.

The ball is being arranged by Ewan's friend Tony Coia and his wife Vicky, who made the firefighter godfather to their children, Zoe and Sean. Mr Coia, 34, is also manager of the gym at the Capital Hotel in Corstorphine, where the ball will be held.

He said he wanted to celebrate the memory of his friend, who died in July last year while fighting a blaze at the Balmoral bar in Dalry Road.

"I hosted a party for all his friends at The Ark in October, and that made me think I wanted to do a nice night for his mum, because the last time his mum was with everybody was at the funeral.

"I wanted to do something special, to raise awareness for the job that the firefighters are doing and raise some money for The Fire Fighters Charity and the Ewan Williamson Memorial Fund, and make it a night to remember."

He is appealing for donations of raffle and auction prizes to help raise as much as possible.

"We've got 210 tickets, and I thought 'Are you going to fill it?' and within two days, 90 people had booked up, so it's going to be a sell-out, there's no doubt."

The evening will also feature a three-course meal and an after-dinner speech from former world-class sprinter George McNeill.

Mr Coia is also organising a fundraising five-a-side tournament in Ewan's memory, to be held on 7 February. Three teams that the firefighter played with, a team from the fire service and representatives of Hibs and Hearts will play in the event, which it is hoped will become an annual fixture.

Mr Coia said he had remained close to Ewan's family and they had helped each other through the difficult months following his death.

"Life goes on, at the end of the day this stuff happens, but I'm keeping his memory alive and I think it's not an unusual thought in Edinburgh that his memory should be kept alive, because of what he did and the way he died.

"At the time, obviously it was full-on, the girls organised the funeral and the glare was on that, and suddenly it went quiet. But it gave us the time to reflect and I'm with Beccy all the time, and his mum. We all stick together and they're three amazing women."

The Evening News has put forward Ewan to receive the Queen's Gallantry Medal, gaining the support of his family, as well as thousands of local residents.

Almost 500 more people have signed our petition in recent weeks, and a decision is to be made on whether the medal will be posthumously awarded to Ewan in the coming months.

A fire service spokeswoman said: "We really appreciate the effort that people have made to continue to keep Ewan's memory alive and a good amount of money has already been raised in memory of him and in recognition of what he did."

Tickets cost 50, or 45 when you book a table of ten. To buy tickets or donate a prize, contact Mr Coia on 0131-528 9984 or e-mail vickyhenderson90@hotmail.com.