NUNEATON shoppers have maintained the borough’s proud record for supporting members of the Armed Forces.
They helped old soldiers raise hundreds of pounds for wounded heroes with a collection in the town’s major shopping mall.
The money was for Q4IS, Quilts for Injured Servicemen, which was set up by a group of women from Lutterworth.
Veteran Jesse Owen heard about them and they were invited to come to the town.
They collected in the Ropewalk Shopping Centre: “What they do for the wounded troops is wonderful and the people of Nuneaton certainly showed their appreciation,” he said.
“We collected nearly £300 on a day when the Ropewalk was very quiet, probably because of the hot weather.
“Most of the money was collected in about three hours and that works at out £100 an hour so you can see how generous the people were.”
Q4IS was set up around two years ago and is run by quilters Brenda Lincoln and her friend Dee Franks and their husbands.
They started making the quilts for wounded soldiers to use on their beds at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and Headley Court,the military rehabilitation centre in Surrey.
“The quilts are often made with the soldiers’ badges on and they really treasure them and take them home with them when they leave, “ said Jesse Owen.
“We know about the dead, bless them, because we see them come home, but we never hear about the wounded, some of whom have terrible injuries.
“But this way they know there is somebody thinking about them which can make all of the difference.
“That is where we come in because the people in Lutterworth supply the quilts for nothing but they have to pay for the materials.
“The money from the collection at the Ropewalk will do just that and the quilters were pleased at the amount that was raised. They have asked me to pass on their thanks.”
