Sandy Murray of Sandy's Travel Escapes founded the Yorkshire Travel Trade Ball in 1998, and went on to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity through the event over the years.

She was taken ill shortly before last year's event and although she recovered sufficiently to attend, her health deteriorated over the coming year before her passing on Saturday (20 September), which has prompted tributes from across the industry.

Idle Travel director Tony Mann, who knew Sandy for "quite some time", told TTG: "Sandy was always really kind to me. She looked after people. She took me under her wing."

Mann organised this year's ball while Sandy recovered at home. "She was taken poorly the day before the ball last year," Mann explained. "She did make it, but she went to hospital the next day. She went through a lot this past year but she was still so bright and such a positive person.

"I spoke to her last week and even though she was poorly, she was asking me how I was doing. She said 'make sure everybody has a great time' at the ball. I said to her, 'It's your ball – I just took on the baton'. She was a fantastic friend."

Credit: Sandy Murray/ Facebook

The ball will be held this week at Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa. "We've got 130 people coming on Thursday [25 September] and I want to do her proud," Mann added. "I'm going to take the microphone and do a toast. It's more important now that she's passed."

Asked about Sandy's life and her passions, Mann recalled how she was particularly fond of US actor Steven Seagal – and for riding motorcycles. "She had a thing for Steve Seagal," he said. "She actually had a signed photo of him. She got a thrill out of riding bikes. Can you imagine that?

"I saw her ride a motorbike around Castle Donington," he continued. "She had an aura about her – she knew a lot of people."

Many of the agents TTG spoke to about Sandy recalled her hatred of air conditioning. "She had this thing about air con," said Mann. "We would always have to convince her to put the air con on at the Yorkshire Ball, which was traditionally in July or August. We knew we had a battle on to get her to put it on."

Credit: Barbara Sutton

Stephen Smith, Tobago Tourism Agency sales and marketing manager, hosted Sandy and six other agents on a fam trip to the Caribbean island in 2019.

"We had an amazing week," Smith recalled. "One of the funniest things from that week is that she kept saying she was allergic to the air con. She wasn't, she just didn't like it, but we always had to avoid using it on the fam when we were all together.

"That was the first time she had ever mentioned it to me and I'd known her for at least 15 years!"

Sandy was 'up for anything'

Travel Counsellor Barbara Sutton was also on the Tobago fam with Sandy and recalled her lifelong love of animals – particularly cats. "We were a really mixed age group. Sandy must have just been over 70 by then. Sandy had this knitted waistcoat with cats on it so that became a talking point," Sutton said.

"She was up for anything and had a great sense of humour. She kept saying her mother would have been proud of her. She was a genuinely lovely lady. Sandy thought the world of her mum even though her mum had passed."

Luxury Travel Gurus agent Jenny Jackson met Sandy on another fam trip to Casale Panayiotis in the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus. "My best memory was going on this fam trip and Sandy revving up a quad bike and racing around a vineyard full throttle with her hair blowing in the wind and a huge smile on her face. I am not even sure she knew how to stop the damn thing," Jackson said. "She loved her cats and we saw all her cat photos that week."

A 'beautiful genuine lady'

Pole Travel director Jill Waite recalled the special relationship Sandy had with her mum while she was alive. She said: "At the Abta Convention in the Costa del Sol one year, Sandy won a car. I was sat with her on the table and she said she had to ring her mum to tell her only for her mum kept to keep asking if they would be meeting up for lunch on Sunday. It was hilarious."

Waite added: "We also went on a fam trip with Red Sea Holidays and she kept talking photos of the lampshades in the hotel that were shaped like cats."

Holiday Village agent Joanna Parkin said: "Sandy just loved her animals. She was such a beautiful, genuine lady, who was down to earth. I've been in travel for 40 years and so had she. I found out on Saturday [about her passing] and I was absolutely gutted. It was bit of a shock as I had no idea she was so poorly."