An event honoring the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment is scheduled, and a memorial is set to be built in remembrance of all those who have served in the Regiment over the past five decades. The National Memorial Arboretum will host the memorial, the construction of which will begin soon.
The Lancashire regiment is highly respected in the community and many members of the public look forward to the completion of the memorial. The names of the departed and those who fought for their county will be read out during the commemoration speeches at the event itself as they were at a previous ceremony in 2014.
These plans are all due to the generosity of The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment Veterans’ Charity. The Veterans’ Charity has already raised over $100,000 to contribute to the event, and this amount continues to grow by the week. The project to build the memorial is said to be ahead of schedule due to the volume of generous donations.
Joe Horvath, chairman of the fund, served for many years in the British army and had only glowing things to say about the regiment – he mentioned their pride, bravery, resilience, perseverance, professionalism, and universal popularity in the United Kingdom.
Another member of the regiment, Joe, a 62-year-old veteran who served around the globe from Germany to Kenya, stated he hopes the regiment stays intact for years to come and its legacy preserved for historical purposes. He was extremely supportive of the event, saying it would hopefully reach out to younger people and generate interest in the war efforts of the past.
The organizers of the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment Charity are Steven Stout, Tom Rigby, Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Joe Horvath, and Andrew Burke – great, respectable men who strive to make a difference in their community. The memorial is expected to be completed around March 2020, hopefully in time to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the regiment, which is on the 25th of March.
The specifics of the memorial itself are currently shrouded in secrecy, and the organizers are reluctant to give too much away. Joe Horvath gave some hints of what to expect in the design, saying it will have a high-quality glass centerpiece displaying the regiment’s flag and its core values. The two regiments that were combined in order to create the original QLR, the Lancashire Regiment and the Loyal Regiment, will also be honored.
The support of Sir Lindsey Hoyle has been crucial to the successful organization of the event, and his colleagues on the organizing committee describe him as a fantastic, charismatic man who gets the job done; a true leader in all regards.
Sir Lindsey told how, two years earlier, he had been excited to meet with Tom Rigby to see how he could help try and figure out a way to assemble a celebratory event for the regiment. The committee’s progress two years later speaks to the effectiveness of their efforts. Veterans involved in the organization of the memorial have saluted the team’s effort with much admiration.
Fundraising for the memorial and the event has exceeded expectations and many of the event’s staff, veterans, and workers alike have been blown away by the public’s financial support and the positive reception the event has received. Tom Rigby expects that the memorial will be in place by 2020, in time for the Regiment’s anniversary, but community members agree that it shouldn’t be unveiled before the 25th of March whether or not it’s complete before then.