Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Corrie’s liz opens rally for ex-soldiers
Corrie star Beverley Callard was among the crowds helping raise funds for veterans at a militarythemed music festival.
The actress, who plays Liz Mcdonald, opened the event at the old railway station, Wingham.
Her husand is a member of the Queen’s Regimental Riders Association, which organised the show.
The motorcycle group is made up of ex- servicemen of The Queen’s Regiment.
Steve ‘The Bard’ Barden, treas- urer and founder member, says the annual three-day rally raises money to support veterans of his former regiment, which was amalgamated with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment in 1992.
“The rally was a huge success due to the continued support of the Wingham community, exservicemen of The Queen’s Regiment and the wider biker fraternity who heavily support us,” he said. “We put on live entertainment and about 15 bands played free of charge. We had various food stalls and stalls selling merchandise. Of the profits we make, 100% goes to the Queen’s Regimental Association Benevolence fund.
“This helps families who have lost relatives, or injured ex-servicemen.”
Mr Barden, who served for 20 years, says the riders association, whose members bear the numbers 66-92 on their coats to represent the timespan of The Queen’s Regiment, was set up to raise funds for the charity.
“Due to government cuts, The Queen’s Regiment was amalgamated with the PWRR and lots of us left,” he said.
“The Queen’s Regimental Association and the benevolence fund was formed. We have in excess of 15 charitable branches and the riders association, which I set up six years ago with three others, is one of those.”
He says the annual rally is open to everyone: “It’s a rally in the motorcycle world but we like to call it a military festival because we want the public to come along too.