War walk is tribute to tragic musician
APOIGNANT walk through the battlefields of the Somme will raise money in memory of a talented young musician from Macclesfield.
Max Morrison, 17, a former Fallibroome Academy pupil, died from leukaemia in 2019 having being diagnosed with the disease on his 15th birthday.
The popular teen made a huge impression on the people he met, including Stephen Benson, owner of the Cheshire Roll of Honour - a database of fallen soldiers.
Stephen is also a battlefield guide and when Max was part of a group at Thiepval Memorial he assisted with a presentation about a young soldier who died at the Somme.
Max’s younger brother Vincent, 16, will also be on the 26-mile walk that follows the frontline of the British sector of the Somme battlefield.
Stephen, 58, an IT consultant from Crewe, said: “Max made quite an impression on me, he was a lovely lad.
“He cared about music and he cared about history and remembering those people who died 100 years ago.
“I go over regularly but have never walked the full length in one day. Hopefully we will raise plenty of money.”
The walk takes place on July 7 and some of the proceeds will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust, which supported Max and his family during his illness.
Max first showed his love for music aged nine when he played a guitar at a family wedding and went on to front The Down.
He was also a football and rugby fan and continued to perform and record music through his battle with leukaemia.
Walking with the Wounded, a charity that helps veterans and their families, and the Lochnagar Crater Foundation, which preserves a large crater caused by an explosion as a peace symbol, will also benefit from the walk.
The Cheshire Roll of Honour has the names of more than 30,000 people from the county who have died in conflict since the Boer War to the present day.
It has more than 2,000 Commonwealth war graves cemeteries listed, around 4,000 pictures of soldiers, over 300 county memorials and includes civilians killed during the blitz in WWII.
The database is updated daily.