Wings Appeal thank-you

THE Lisburn Branch of the Royal Airforce Association would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to the people of Lisburn and its environs who generously supported our appeal during the Battle of Britain Wings Week in September past. We are pleased to advise that the total collected was an amazing £8,000.

It may be of interest to your readers to know that, not only are we called upon to give assistance to the elderly veterans and their dependents of the Second World War but, in our on-going welfare work, we are now confronted by the need to help ex-members and severing members (and their families) of the RAF who have played their part in the more recent conflicts in the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan. “Our boys” have made many sacrifices in all of these areas and we are very aware of the many casualties. Were it not for your generosity, we would be unable to perform this role.

We would reiterate that we are reliant on your support from one September to the next. We feel sure that next year we can once again rely on you in your local effort in this most deserving of causes. For your largesse in the past and we trust in the future, we are indebted to you one and all and, for this, we tender our most sincere thanks. Finally, we would like to that Mayor Leathem for his willingness to meet out officers to “kick off” our appeal. For this and his future support we applaud him and wish him every success for the remainder of his office.

Lastly, we would express our indebtedness to those traders who gave their kind permission and tolerated us collecting at their premises.