Heroic effort required
Remember our heroes: past and present
IT IS now 90 years ago since The Great War ended in 1918 — a fact which will be commemorated this Armistice Day.
The Royal British Legion is honouring the memory of the War's heroes with a unique tribute — planting a Flanders' Field of Poppies at the Menin Gate in Flanders.
And the Carluke and Lanark Gazette is also honouring the milestone by launching its own local heroes campaign.
Remember our Heroes: Past and Present will salute all of those who have fought valiantly for their country in the past 90 years...and those who are still on active duty.
Sadly, survivors of the Great War are now few and far between and, unfortunately, the War to End All Wars did not achieve that
purpose.
In fact, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission "Debt of Honour Register" lists 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars.
Thousands of others have laid down their lives since, protecting Queen and Country from the threat of invasion and terrorism.
Indeed, there has only been one year since the Second World War when a British Service person hasn't been killed on active service — 1968 was a good year.
Today, around 185,000 men and women are enlisted with the UK regular forces — Army (103,470), Navy (38,270) and Royal Air Force (43,170).
Many thousands of these British service men and women are fighting on the front line. It's a very different threat yet, as the Glasgow Airport attack proved, a very real one they are battling — the war against terrorism.
The Gazette's Remember our Heroes: Past and Present campaign aims to honour those still in active duty, as well as their former
comrades.
To achieve this, over the next five weeks we will feature three local heroes currently serving in the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as veterans who remember only too well the sacrifices made in the line of duty.
In addition, we are backing the MOD-
sanctioned Christmas parcel appeal run by the charity Support Our Soldiers...to help bring some Christmas cheer to our troops around the globe this festive season.
However, we need YOUR support to ensure our campaign is a success.
So we are now appealing to readers, organisations, schools and businesses in the Carluke and Lanark Gazette area to donate goods to the parcel appeal.
Editor Julie Currie said: "Many service men and women receive parcels from loved ones back home but it's a sad fact that others do not...as they simply have no-one of their own to send such basic luxuries as soap and sweets.
"Amazingly, their unselfish comrades end up sharing out their parcels to ensure that every member of the team has some comfort...and it's much-needed. Sadly, all too often, the only time we hear about bravery on the front line is when another service man or woman has laid down his or her life for their country.
''The news headlines don't reveal what our troops have to put up with — day in, day out — to protect Queen and Country.
"From searing heat to freezing cold, hours of boredom to days of terror, amazing
achievements to unimaginable losses — it's all in the line of duty. It may be a job they are paid to do but we believe our troops deserve some support from their countrymen and women...and so the Gazette's Remember our Heroes: Past and Present campaign was born.
"Now all we need is YOUR support to ensure that our local heroes, past and present, are saluted this Armistice Day."
Support our Soldiers has furnished us with a list of items which would be a welcome treat for our troops on the front line, including:
n Toiletries: Toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, roll-on deodorant, razors, shaving gel, talcum powder, cotton buds, wet wipes, tissues, lip salve, travel wash, sanitary protection, combs, face cloths.
n Pharmacy: Imodium, Rennie, Paracetamol, plasters, insect repellant, sun screen, eye drops.
n Savoury snacks: Pringles, crisps, nuts, pork scratchings, beef jerky, savoury rice, noodles, oatcakes, stock cubes, packet soups, small tins tuna.
n Sweet Snacks: Fruit/cereal bars, fruit flakes, dried fruit, shortbread, small cakes, biscuits, small tins/tubs fruit, packets of custard, evaporated milk, condensed milk, tubs jelly, small jars of jam/marmalade.
n Confectionery: Travel sweets, toffee, fudge, Mars bars etc, chocolate raisins, chocolate peanuts, energy sweets, Love Hearts etc, Fruit Pastilles etc, lollipops, mints, chewing gum.
n Drinks: Tea bags, coffee sachets, small bottles Irn bru/cola, fruit shoots, sachets of orange.
n Clothing: Socks, male/female underwear, T-shirts, Thermal underwear.
n Recreation: Paperback books, magazines, puzzle books, sport programmes, playing cards, travel games, jigsaws, pens, pencils, notebooks, artist paints, sketch books, DVD's, small football/rugby balls, dominoes.
* Miscellaneous: Boot laces, safety matches, nail clippers, batteries, blank greetings cards and, most of all, messages of support, (Christmas cards, Santa hats, for Christmas appeal).
The key is to keep items small and light as they are packed into shoeboxes which are weight and size restricted, travel/individual sizes are better than family packs.
And please note that aerosols, alcohol and lighters are strictly prohibited.
Julie added: "I realise in the current climate times are tough but the team here at the Gazette would be delighted to receive any donation — large or small — as, I'm sure, will the service men and women who will ultimately benefit."
Donations can be handed in to the Carluke Gazette office at 3 High Street, Carluke, or the Lanark Gazette office at 5 Wellgate, Lanark.
A number of other titles in the Johnston (Falkirk) newspaper group have also signed up to the campaign, which will run from October 8 to November 12.
All of the goods donated to Remember our Heroes: Past and Present from all of our titles will be parcelled up by Support our Soldiers and sent to our troops in time for Christmas.
In the last week of the campaign, November 12, we'll let you know exactly how much has been amassed for our service men and women — both locally and across the Johnston (Falkirk) group.
So please, Remember our Heroes: Past and Present and lend your support to our campaign...and our troops.
DID YOU KNOW?
n People as young as 17.5 years can be sent on active service, so veterans are often much younger than people realise.
n The Poppy Appeal raised almost 30 million in 2007.
n 300,000 staff and volunteers organise the Poppy Appeal each year.
n More than 30 million remembrance poppies, 500,000 poppies of other types, five million remembrance petals, 100,000 wreaths and sprays, 750,000 remembrance crosses and other remembrance items are made at the Poppy Factory in Surrey, each year.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Lanark
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Heavy sleet showers
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 38 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South west
