Romsey Male Voice Choir (RMVC) and music students from Test Valley School were the stars of a show in aid of quadriplegic, Alex Lewis – a young father who lost all his limbs to a rare infection.

The choir and the students performed a concert which raised £2,244 for the Alex Lewis Trust.

The event held at the school in Stockbridge was hosted by Dickie Davies, former ITV sports presenter, who talked about his friend Alex who was given only a five per cent chance of survival after a common cold turned into septicaemia and toxic shock syndrome. He then entertained the audience with some anecdotes and jokes before handing over to compere Terry Morrison, who introduced the RMVC, under their musical director Marion Maxey, and accompanist, Richard Stannard.

The green-jacketed choir sang 17 songs including three new additions to their repertoire – I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables, The Sound of Silence by Paul Simon and Where’re you Walk by Handel.

The Test Valley students, under their head of music Grace Leyman, performed a cello solo, a flute duet, vocal and guitar solo, then piano solo and the school choir, sang Hallelujah, and Rolling in the Deep.

Then after Dickie requested a final encore the choir sang, You’ll Never Walk Alone. Alex, 35, and his partner Lucy Townsend were in the audience, accompanied by the Alex Lewis Trust manager, Rosemary Court. Also in the audience were Test Valley deputy mayor Iris Andersen and her consort John Cockaday.

The proceeds from the concert were presented to the trust at Stockbridge’s Greyhound pub (run by Lucy) by choir chairman Geoff Skinner and concert secretary David Witt.

This week Alex and Lucy were due to fly to Oklahoma City to visit the Hanger Clinic Annual Amputee Bootcamp. This is an intensive four-day assessment for suitability for their prosthetic limbs.

The trip has been funded by the Romsey-based special forces charity Pilgrim Bandits.

When Alex returns, he aims to train with the Bandits who are making an attempt on the record for the most pairs taking part in a tandem sky dive. The jump will take place at APA Netheravon in Wiltshire in July.

RMVC’s next engagement will be at Andover’s St Mary’s Church, with the Andover Town Band, on May 2 at 7pm. The concert will be in aid of The Countess of Brecknock Hospice and other local charities. Tickets can be obtained from, Romsey Tourist information Centre and Bath Travel, Andover.