2:38pm Thursday 18th March 2010
By Joe Ware
Gurkhas from Hullavington’s Buckley Barracks have thanked volunteers from the Malmesbury area who helped the Royal British Legion send them parcels while on duty in Afghanistan.
The Royal British Legion identified 40 single Gurkhas who were likely to be without family to send them goodies while being deployed at Camp Bastion as part of Operation Herrick.
The campaign by the Malmesbury and Sherston branch, which raised £1,200, was given a boost by actress and Gurkha campaigner Joanna Lumley who sent a donation and wrote to branch chairman Derek Tilney.
Mr Tilney said he had received a letter from Corporal Raju Midhun who had written on behalf of the soldiers. Mr Tilney said: “I received a letter thanking us for all the support. He said it helps them knowing they have friends here wishing them well.
“We would have liked to post things to them all but we had to select the single boys without families.
“Thankfully we were able to raise enough money to send them some really good quality items.”
He added that the warmth shown to the Gurkhas was a credit to the people of Wiltshire. He said: “Buckley Barracks is the most culturally diverse regiment in the British Army and it is a credit to the people here that they have been so welcoming to our foreign soldiers.”
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