Veterans help raise £17k for memorial

A PAIR of Army veterans have helped raise £17,000 to fund the creation of a memorial to soldiers from Macclesfield and the surrounding areas.

Councillor Ashley Farrall, from Macclesfield central ward, and football coach Stuart Harrison marched 22 miles carrying backpacks weighing 22kg on Saturday, August 22.

They were raising money for a memorial to the Cheshire Regiment, which both have served with prior to its amalgamation into The 22nd Regiment of Foot in 2007.

It was one of the oldest infantry regiments of the British Army and took a lot of its soldiers from Macclesfield.

But when Ashley and Stuart visited the National Memorial Arboretum with the Macclesfield veterans breakfast club they found no dedicated memorial to the Cheshire Regiment.

So the duo decided this needed to be fixed and after being quoted a price of £20,000 to create one started a campaign to raise the necessary money.

Their march was due to take place on March 22 but was cancelled because of the Covid lockdown and was instead completed five months later.

Ashley said: “We should all be proud of our local history and this includes the Cheshire Regiment of which I have the honour of serving in.

“The Armed Forces community, family and friends have been amazing raising money for this worthy cause.”

Stuart said: “When I visited the Arboretum, I was very disappointed that my old regiment didn’t have a memorial there to show him.

“I was gutted so I spoke to Ashley and we decided we needed to sort this out.”

The march, between Macclesfield and Sandbach via Alsager, contributed to the current total of £17,000.

People can still donate by visiting www. gofundme.com/f/ help-raise-money-for-amemorial-at-the-nma.