Midlands regional winners

The Loughborough Students RAG, who raised over £50,000 for charities that support the British Armed Forces, has won the Community Group award category for the Midlands region. 

The other winners in Midlands region were Carol Jones who won in the Individual category and DHL Droitwich who won in the Corporate category.

Loughborough Students RAG

On just one day in London last year, £34,000 was raised for The Royal British Legion by 70 students from Loughborough Students RAG. They collected in underground stations from 7.00am until 6.00pm and slept on the floor of the gymnasium at the City of London School for boys.

Jamie Oliver the Chairman of Loughborough Students RAG said: "Here at Loughborough University we are very proud to have been awarded a regional Friend of the Forces Award. It is great to be recognised for all the hard work that our student volunteers put into fundraising for a very worthwhile cause. A massive thank you must go to all the students for the time they give up and their hard work which allowed us to raise this amount of money."

Angie Downie, County Poppy Appeal Co-ordinator said: "Year after year, the local Poppy Appeal organisers can count on Loughborough Students RAG to help them raise money. The students are always available and willing to send volunteers at a minutes notice, and will always give 110%. Not only this but they are always friendly, approachable and professional and I am delighted that their efforts have been recognised through this award."

Richard Foster The Royal British Legion's County Manager for Leicestershire, Rutland & Northamptonshire said, "Loughborough Students RAG has put in an exceptional effort to offer help and support to the Armed Forces family and we are extremely pleased to be recognising their dedication through this award. We received hundreds of excellent entries from across the country, however the judges were incredibly impressed by the outstanding work that Loughborough Students RAG has been doing. On behalf of the British Armed Forces, The Royal British Legion would like to say a huge thank you to all the students who helped to raise this money."

Loughborough Students RAG has been shortlisted for the National award in the Community Group category. 

Carol Jones

Devoted mother Carol Jones, 63, from Hurley, Warwickshire, lobbied the Government for three years to bring the Basra Memorial Wall home to the UK.

The wall was erected in Basra in 2006 by the British Armed Forces to honour lost colleagues and has plaques bearing the names of the 233 Service personnel killed in Iraq. The memorial looked set to be hidden away in an Iraqi embassy complex after British Armed Forces withdrew last year, but was saved thanks to Mrs Jones and a team of campaigners and brought back brick-by-brick to Britain.

On winning the award Mrs Jones said: "I am over the moon to have won this award and want to thank everyone who helped bring back the wall. When you lose a child, especially as a mother who's carried that child for nine months, it hurts. I now want to support other families who are going through the same thing."

Her son Sergeant John Jones, 31, who served with the 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2005. The following year Mrs Jones heard about the wall and comments: "I was determined to bring the wall home to the people it meant the most to. Last December the Government finally agreed and it now stands proudly at The Royal British Legion's National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. Getting that wall back on British soil has been the biggest battle of my life and the original 4,000 bricks have now been covered with red granite as they could not cope with UK weather."

Charlie Bagot Jewitt, Chief Executive of the Arboretum, said: "At the same time as coming to terms with her own tragic loss, Carol has supported actively many other families who have lost sons and daughters in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Her determination to bring the Basra Memorial Wall back to Britain means that there is now a very special place, here in the centre of the UK, where people can come to mourn, commemorate and celebrate the lives of loved ones. As a result, Carol is a most deserving winner."

DHL Droitwich

DHL Droitwich "adopted" AVA Platoon, The 2nd Battalion, the Mercian Regiment while they were on tour in Afghanistan and kept them supplied with monthly "goodie boxes" which included DVD players and iPods. Letters were also exchanged and strong friendships forged between DHL personnel and those they were supporting. On their return, DHL Droitwich treated the Platoon to a welcome home evening.

DHL Droitwich also raised money to create a fund for any of the Platoon that may come home injured. It was agreed that any money raised and not required would be handed over to the Worcestershire Royal British Legion County Welfare Fund, to be used for the continued support of the Service and ex-Service community. At the welcome home reception, Captain Jack Bellfield of AVA Platoon handed a cheque for £5,055.06 to The Royal British Legion. Subsequently a further sum of £2,700 has been received from the DHL "Match it" Fund.

Terry Orpe, Community Liaison Officer at DHL Droitwich said: "Setting up the relationship with AVA Platoon was a great experience for us at DHL Droitwich. We set about to raise money via fundraising events to create a fund for any of the Platoon that may come home injured. Thankfully this was not required, and the money raised in their name was given to The Royal British Legion. Some great friendships have been formed with the Platoon and to receive this award is the icing on the cake for us at DHL Droitwich."

Captain Jack Bellfield of AVA Platoon said: "I wholeheartedly support The Royal British Legion in giving a prize to DHL Droitwich, they definitely deserve it and their hard work throughout the year was incredibly humbling. We were constantly staggered by their generosity, not only during the tour but also on our return to the UK where the support continued. Other Platoons within our Battle Group were in constant envy of the support we had from DHL and nobody else was in receipt of such generosity. We were incredibly privileged."

DHL in Droitwich has been shortlisted for the National award in the Corporate category.

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