Queen’s Dragoon Guard soldiers present £1,216 charity cheque to Duke of Westminster

Jul 23 2009 by Mark Dowling, Chester Chronicle

Queen’s Dragoon Guard soldiers present £1,216 charity cheque to Duke of Westminster

GENEROUS soldiers saddled up for a cycling challenge to raise more than £1,200 for a worthy cause.

Soldiers were inspired into action by the injury to Lance Corporal Meadows, from Blacon, Chester, who lost a leg while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan after his armoured vehicle was blown up by a road-side bomb last November.

His fellow soldiers in C Squadron of the Queens Dragoon Guards organised a cycle ride on static gym machines in Afghanistan, cycling the distance from Garmsir, where they were based, to Chester, a distance of about 6,000 miles.

The squadron presented the cheque for £1,216 to the Duke of Westminster in Eaton Hall on Friday as a result of their efforts.

LCpl Meadows, who was present, now wears a prosthetic right limb.

The Duke of Westminster collected the cheque on behalf of the British Limbless Ex Service Men’s Association (BLESMA).

As an added treat, the Duke arranged for a 1916 Rolls Royce armoured car to be brought in to the courtyard for the soldiers to get a good look at, with several of them even having the opportunity to drive it within the grounds.