Army veterans launch £20,000 memorial bid
ARMY veterans are trying to raise £20,000 for a memorial to soldiers of a regiment heavily connected to Macclesfield.
Councillor Ashley Farrall, from Macclesfield central ward, and community football coach Stuart Harrison have started the campaign.
They began the quest after visiting the National Memorial Arboretum with the Macclesfield veterans breakfast club and finding no dedicated memorial to the Cheshire Regiment.
Both have served with the Cheshires, which prior to its amalgamation into The 22nd Regiment of Foot in 2007, was one of the oldest infantry regiments in the British Army.
Its history dates back to 1689.
The two veterans were quoted £20,000 from Masons and Sculptors to produce a memorial and have set up a Facebook and GoFundMe page.
Coun Farrall 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 so far, we’re halfway to our goal.”
Stuart said: “When I visited the Arboretum with my son, 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 pair will undertake a 22-mile fundraising march, carrying 22lbs on March 22 to help add to the total. Anyone wishing to donate can visit www. gofundme. com/ f/ helpr a i s e - m o n e y - f o r- a - memorial-at-the-nma.