Lord Mayor joins bike challenge to Somme

SHEFFIELD’S LORD Mayor will join 19 other fundraisers on a 400-mile charity bike ride to the Somme, which begins today.

Coun Magid Magid, will set off from Sheffield Town Hall on the four-day fundraiser commemorating the lives of the Sheffield Pals.

The group will arrive in Bapaume on Sunday greeted by local people and the York and Lancaster Regiment. Here, they will recognise the lives lost during the war in a service of remembrance. Funds are being raised for the renovation of Sheffield Memorial Park in France, which is dedicated to the Sheffield Pals who died on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Coun Magid said: “In my short time in office I have been made aware of the supreme sacrifice made by the Sheffield Pals who signed up for active service at the Town Hall all those years ago. “Sheffield is privileged to have its own memorial park in northern France that remembers them. I am delighted to be chosen as Sheffield’s First Citizen to raise money to enable visitors to remember their endeavours through improved visitor access and information at the site.” He will be joined by prominent business figures, including Meadowhall centre director Darren Pearce. He said: “Sheffield lost a generation but, by raising funds and awareness through initiatives such as this, we can to continue to remember and honour those that so bravely gave their lives for our country.”