Volunteers needed to bring WWII veterans’ graves back to former glory

Military charity Blind Veterans UK are appealing for volunteers to assist in bringing a collection of military graves back to their original condition.

On 22 October between 9:30am and 3pm, the charity requires volunteers to help with gardening and weeding.

The Blind Veterans UK plot at Brighton City Cemetery contains 230 graves, a memorial stone and garden of remembrance where hundreds of blind veterans’ ashes have been scattered.

Despite being maintained, the combination of decades of exposure and the lockdown period have meant that the charity is embarking on the restoration project.

In the last couple of weeks volunteers from the charity and Brighton College students have been hard at work scrubbing down the stones. And this week, well-known military grave restorer, Steve Davies, will be joined by a team of volunteers and treating them.

The final part of the project takes place on October 15 where a team of five people from Unbarred Brewery and any kind volunteers who are available on the day will be completing the gardening and weeding. Volunteers should arrive at the Blind Veterans UK plot at Brighton City Cemetery, Bear Road, BN2 4DA between 9:30am and 3pm. Refreshments will be provided.

Jo Parker-Smith, Volunteer Coordinator at Blind Veterans UK, says:

“We’re so grateful to everyone involved in this project. It’s been wonderful bringing local people, schools, and businesses together to work on such a worthy cause. The veterans who are laid to rest here risked everything so we could be free. It’s only right that we remember them in the proper way.”

Our Executive Members

By @Cobseo 54 years ago

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