Stobart supports Help for Heroes at this year's Rally GB
The Stobart VK M-Sport Ford rally team have showcased their support
for Help for Heroes at the final round of this year's FIA World Rally
Championship, Rally GB, in Wales this week. Help for Heroes stickers are
proudly carried on British star Matthew Wilson's Ford Focus RS WRC car
to help garner support for the charity which aims to rehabilitate the
injured heroes of Britain's armed forces.
This year's link-up between the Stobart team and Help for Heroes follows
a tradition of service to the forces; the iconic British brand Eddie
Stobart has been supplying foodstuffs and other goods to British NAAFI
army bases in Germany since 1998.
Celebrating its second anniversary this month, Help for Heroes has
already managed to raise GBP30 million; breaking all the records for
fund-raising by a start-up charity. Patrons of the charity include
General Sir Richard Dannatt, Jeremy Clarkson, and Andy McNab.
The charity currently aims to create a series of Army Recovery Centres
throughout the UK to serve as the last stage of rehabilitation for
injured servicemen and women. One such centre already exists in
Edinburgh and further centres are planned around the country. A major
construction project is already underway at Headley Court to build a
superb new complex complete with swimming pool, gym and research centre.
Today Corporal Anthony Lock, who was injured while serving in
Afghanistan earlier this year before undergoing rehabilitation at
Headley Court, attended the Stobart service area while David Gatward, a
former Captain in the Army Intelligence Corps and active supporter of
Help for Heroes, collected donations from rally fans with his wife and
met with WRC star Wilson.
Gatward, who served throughout the world for 25 years said: "The Service
Rehabilitation Centres are extremely important; for servicemen it's not
only a case of getting back to active duty but also of getting back to
living and having a good life. What most people don't realise is that
it's not just physical but mental wellbeing that's at stake.
"Stobart have been fantastic and Matthew Wilson was a real gentleman;
without organisations like Stobart doing this, where are our service
personnel supposed to turn? They've been more than friendly everywhere
we go and it's an emotional thanks, also the fans here at the rally have
been really generous."
-credit: stobart
