A GRANDMOTHER from Chester has been chosen as The Chronicle representative to carry the Olympic Flame when it passes through the city on May 29, 2012.

Margaret McKeegan, of Francis Street, says she will be carrying the torch ‘for all my soldiers, the wounded and the dead.’

A veteran fundraiser, Margaret, 77, has sent more than 2,300 shoe boxes of goodies to soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

She said:  “Some of the lads have got nobody.  They’re from all sorts of places around the world- from Fiji, from Nigeria and Nepal.

“They write to me regularly to tell me how much they appreciate the gifts.”

Margaret’s boxes are a treasure trove of tasty treats and a few luxuries.

“I put in things like a packet of Pringles, tins of Spam and ham, noodles, shaving gel, deodorant and biscuits.  I’ve also put a few Santa hats in the ones for Christmas!

“They like to have things that remind them of home.”

Margaret donates about £30 every week out of her pension to fund the boxes and receives donations from friends and family.  She also organises fundraising events like table-top sales and charity nights.

“I don’t drink and I don’t go out so I am happy to do it, and people are very generous,” she added.

Her beneficence has prompted soldiers to write to her from the front line.

“The letters are very moving,” said Margaret.  “I used to get a regular letter  from Lee in 1 Rifles and then I didn’t hear from him for a while.

“Then a couple of weeks ago I got a card from his wife.  He had asked her to tell me that he had been injured by an IED (improvised explosive device) and that he will write to me when he’s out of hospital.  They have a little boy of two.”

Margaret was nominated by her close friend Pam Moyle, who said: “She is one of the most caring, hard-working and positive people I know.”

Warming up for a leg in the Olympic Torch relay

THE London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has this week begun to make conditional offers to 8,000 inspiring people to carry the Olympic Flame next summer during the 70-day Olympic Torch Relay.

Margaret McKeegan is among 6,800 inspiring people who are today one step closer to becoming a London 2012 Olympic Torchbearer and having their moment to shine next summer.  A further 1,200 offers are to be made by the end of January 2012 to complete the 8,000-strong  London 2012 Torchbearer team.

Over the summer we asked readers to nominate people in their community in recognition of their contribution to the local community, for the chance to carry the Flame on behalf of Lloyds TSB, National Presenting Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

An average of 115 people a day will take centre stage next summer by carrying the Olympic Flame on its 8,000-mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on July 27, 2012, for the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Follow the Flame around the UK all the way to London 2012

THE Olympic Games are heading for London in just under eight months’ time and Lloyds TSB is backing the great occasion every step of the way.

As the National Presenting Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, Lloyds TSB is making sure as many people as possible in the UK see the Olympic Flame.

The London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will be a 70-day celebration that will see the Olympic Flame carried across the length and breadth of the UK all the way to the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

The Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece before arriving in the UK on May 18, 2012.  It will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers on a relay through towns and cities coming within a one-hour journey for 95 per cent of the population, past famous sights and landmarks, before arriving at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games on July 27, 2012.

The street-level route will be revealed a few weeks before the relay passes through each community.