Army veteran helps town to mark Armed Forces Day (From Northwich Guardian)

Army veteran helps town to mark Armed Forces Day

8:30am Sunday 8th July 2012 in News

AN ARMY veteran organised a day of awareness and support in Kingsmead to mark Armed Forces Day.

Cheryl Shepherd, who now works as a veteran support officer for the probation service, explained that it was experiences within her new role which prompted her to host the event, on June 30.

The Northwich ATC squadron band opened proceedings in the circle, outside the Kingfisher Pub, where Northwich Mayor George Mainwaring and the High Sheriff of Cheshire were in attendance for an outdoor service and one-minute silence.

Visitors could then enjoy a variety of free treats, including face painting, gingerbread biscuits and manicures, as well as taking part in a raffle and guess the weight of the cake challenge.

The 43-year-old Kingsmead resident explained that £395 was raised on the day, thanks to kind donations from visitors.

“I think for the first event, trial and error, it went really, really well,” she said.

“And as the day went on, it got busier.

“The service was absolutely fantastic - the amount of people who came up to me and said it brought a tear to their eye was amazing.”

She added: “In my job, I am getting to deal with more and more veterans, young ones, coming into the criminal justice system.

“We get some babies coming in, they are 20 and 21 and they don’t know their own mind.

“They have fought and done things that we would never even dream of and then they come out into life.

“I just want to raise awareness out there and I wanted people to talk to each other.”

Cheryl said she hopes to stage a similar event next year.