Bench commemorating the Falklands Island conflict to be unveiled
The Lord Lieutenant of the West Midland and the Mayor of Walsall are expected to be present in Short Heath tomorrow when members of a group unveil a bench commemorating the Falklands Island conflict.
Members of the 1,400 strong Short Heath Lest We Forget, a community interest group set up to assist the public and businesses in the area will host the event, at the Lane Head war memorial.
Their motto is 'Lest we Forget' which applies to all members of the community
The group first paid their respects to military personnel and islanders who lost their lives in the Falklands war in April 2022 on the 40th anniversary of the start of the conflict.
Members had already walked between war memorials at Lichfield, Brownhills, Pelsall, Bloxwich and Essington before finishing at Short Heath.
They raised £7,500 which was donated to a Falklands veterans charity and crosses were placed on the island on the last remembrance Sunday and a wreath at the main memorial in the capital Stanley.
They then purchased two benches when they heard of a man who was raising money to install them in the Falklands.
One will be placed at Lane Head on Sunday and the other one 8,000 miles in Liberty Lodge, Falkland Islands.
As well as Sir John Crabtree the Lord Lieutenant and mayor of Walsall councillor Chris Towe, the parents of Adrian Anslow from Wolverhampton who lost his life on the Atlantic Conveyor will be present.
John Elwell from the Short Heath Lest We Forget group said: "This will be a fitting occasion bringing together a number of public figures, members of the group and the public who I am sure will turn out to see the bench which is being unveiled on behalf of King Charles by Sir John.
"We have used the money raised to purchase the benches as we do a lot of work with Falklands charities and it is worth remembering over 900 people lost their lives in the conflict and non of them will ever be forgotten.
"A lot of our work is done around the idea of not forgetting what has happened to anyone and bringing people together as a community to look after each other so this will be appropriate, 42 years on from the Falklands conflict."
The event starts at 10.30am at the war memorial at the junction of Haley Road and High Road, Lane Head, Short Heath.
