Wick Thistle's helping hand for World War II memorial garden
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Committee members and players from local football club Wick Thistle have been praised for their community spirit after carrying out voluntary work in the town's World War II memorial garden.
They braved hail, sleet and rain on Saturday morning to help plant hundreds of spring bulbs and do some weeding at the site in Bank Row where 15 people lost their lives in a wartime bombing raid.
The money for the bulbs, as well as the compost that was used, came from a generous donation by the club to the community group that looks after the garden.
Memorial garden volunteer Yvonne Hendry said: "We are very grateful to Wick Thistle, not only for donating £120 but for assisting on the day, particularly as the weather was so wintry. We planted about 400 bulbs.
"We're so lucky that there is such a good community spirit in the town, and the committee and players of Wick Thistle are a great example of that.
“One of the players, Ryan Henderson, came all the way from Dunbeath to join in.”
Eight-year-old Layla Bremner also gave a helping hand alongside her grandad James Gunn, one of the Thistle committee members.
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.
Club chairman Andrew Henderson said: "We run our weekly lotto to raise funds for the running of the club but we are also very community-minded and try to give back the best we can. We often help sponsor local events, from grassroots football with East End to the Friends of the Glass darts weekend run by ex-player, manager and committee member Arthur Bruce.
"This year we have focused on voluntary groups within the town. When we were approached by Yvonne asking if the club could help in any way we were more than delighted to do so.
"Handing over money is the easy part, but we also like to show our commitment and support by rolling up our sleeves and mucking in. Giving up free time is something that money can’t buy and showing support like this is very much appreciated by the voluntary groups.
"It can be very humbling when the volunteers thank you for the donation and also for lending a hand.
"The club would also like to thank everyone who takes part in the lotto as some of the money does go back into the local community."
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 and is looked after by volunteers from the community group Second World War Air Raid Victims Wick.
