Football club in team effort to spruce up Wick memorial garden

Wick’s World War II memorial garden has been spruced up for summer thanks to some hands-on assistance from a community-minded amateur football club.

Players, committee members and others associated with Wick Thistle spent an hour or more on Saturday morning putting in more than 80 bedding plants as well as carrying out weeding and other tasks.

The 17 Thistle volunteers worked with Yvonne Hendry, volunteer gardener, and Catherine Miller, volunteer gardener and a committee member of the voluntary group that looks after the memorial garden – Second World War Air Raid Victims Wick.

The bedding plants had been donated by ex-Thistle player Raymond Watt and his family.

It was the second time in eight months that Thistle players and committee members had rallied round to help at the site in Bank Row. In October they braved hail, sleet and rain to help plant hundreds of spring bulbs as well as doing weeding.

Thistle, who play in the first division of the Caithness amateur football league, have donated thousands of pounds to local charities and good causes over the years.

The club’s chairman, Andrew Henderson, said: “It was great to see everyone down at the garden on Saturday. It just goes to show how much work can be done in a relatively short time when everyone mucks in.

“It was also great to see some of the young lads, who are only 14 or 15 years old, coming along and helping. That goes to show what type of people they are maturing into.

“It’s important to the club that we are part of the community and do our bit to help when we can. It is very humbling when you get the feedback from people like Yvonne, as they are very grateful for the help.

“It would be easy to make a monetary donation but giving up your spare time, rolling up the sleeves and getting stuck in, is priceless.

“A special thank-you goes to ex-player and friend of the club Raymond Watt and family for their kind donation of over 80 bedding plants.

“It was even more poignant as last week marked the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The gardens are a fitting tribute to what went before us.

“We run our weekly lotto draw to raise funds for the running of the football club but since it began we have donated thousands to local charities and good causes.

“The club has long been established as part of the community and it’s imperative that it remains that way.

“There are a lot of negativities around the town and in Caithness at the moment regarding the state of the roads, the lack of adequate sporting facilities and so on, but look at all the voluntary groups that do so much. When required the community always pulls together, and that is something special.”

Yvonne Hendry said: “Wick is well known for its great community spirit and this is exemplified by Wick Thistle. We really appreciate the kind donation of bedding plants and the fact that so many volunteers from the club turned out on a Saturday morning and worked so hard on planting, clearing weeds and tidying up the garden.

“Thistle donated bulbs to us last year and helped with the planting. This resulted in a beautiful spring display.

“It’s important that people in Caithness are aware of what happened in World War II. Recently the Caithness At War project was launched in Wick, and within the past week there was a D-Day commemoration in the town.

“The memorial garden commemorates those who lost their lives in the Bank Row and Hill Avenue air raids in 1940. It receives many visitors throughout the year, including from local primary schools, and thanks to Wick Thistle the garden is now looking immaculate for the summer.”

The memorial garden was created on the site where eight children and seven adults lost their lives in an air raid in July 1940. It commemorates the victims of that attack as well as the three people who died in October the same year in a raid on Hill Avenue, near the town’s RAF base.

The garden was officially opened in 2010.

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