A gift for our boys in Afghanistan

Nov 29 2008 By Hannah Webster

A platoon commander back home in Weybridge after fighting in Afghanistan is urging people to send Christmas parcels to his comrades to boost morale.

Lieutenant Giles Walsh, 26, has launched the Lonely Tigers Parcel Campaign for his platoon fighting in the Middle East.

Giles has been in the army for three years and is from the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment based in Dover.

A fourth platoon commander for the B Company Group nicknamed The Tigers, Lt Walsh spoke to the Herald while he was back for 10 days rest and recouperation.

He said: "There are a lot of local soldiers from Weybridge, Cobham, Shepperton, and Woking, and I want to get local support for these troops who are on the ground.

"Some of the boys don't get anything, so it would be great to let them know that people are thinking of them."

He is asking residents to make up shoe box parcels, no more than 2kg in weight, filled with goodies like chocolates, biscuits, sweets, and toiletries. He added: "We only get basis food packs so we miss our creature comforts."

On Friday Lt Walsh will return to Afghanistan where he will spend Christmas in the firing line, and although he often receives parcels from his family, many soldiers fighting in his camp rarely receive such comforts.

He said: "Receiving any parcel is a big boost to morale. All the boys crowd around and wait to see if they have any messages to be called out. If they do get any messages or parcels they leave with a smiling face and it makes their day."

Send your shoeboxes full of goodies, freepost, to Lonely Tigers Parcel Campaign, B Company Group, IPWRR, Camp Bastian, Op Herrick BFPO 792 by December 3.

Another way to help is to donate money to UK 4U-Thanks!, a charity set up that makes up and sends boxes to troops. Log on to www.uk4u.org for more details.

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Halliford WI, which has already sent out 150 boxes to the Red Cross for soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, read the appeal in last week's Herald & News and thought it would be good to use up the extra gifts it has to make further parcels for the soldiers fighting on the front line.

Vice-president Joyce Johnston said: "We thought if there's a group of soldiers we can send the parcels to directly then why not let's go for it. We are pleased to know it's going to someone out there.

"Having members with family in the armed forces we know they don't get all the basic needs. We are all getting ready for Christmas but these lads and lasses will be spending Christmas day out there and it's not safe."

The shoeboxes they sent are filled with goodies such as sweets, biscuits, dried fruits, coffee, crisps, toiletries, books and noodles, which were donated to them by friends, other WI groups and the Hersham girl guides.

On hearing of the quick response, Lieut Walsh, who will spend Christmas in the firing line, said: "The speed of people's response is highly encouraging and it is warming that people are so charitable. It's great and we are so grateful."