Soldiers just love our woollen hats (From Ledbury Reporter)

Soldiers just love our woollen hats

5:40pm Tuesday 17th April 2012 in Ledbury

WOOLLEN hats that have been knitted by a happy band of county ladies are earning them fans among the serving soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Cornflower Club for the over 50s, which meets at St Mary’s Church, Kempsey, is about as far away as you can get from that battlezone.

But thanks to the continuing voluntary parcel packing service of villagers David Harrison and his wife Jan Fowler, the club is now linked to dangerous corner of the world.

Among fans of their needlework are personnel from the main British base at Camp Bastion in Helmand province.

One wrote the hats are perfect for keeping out the cold on sentry duty – a 24-hour job.

They are all sent out to the troops as part of the larger welfare parcels, hand-packed by the Kempsey couple, which include socks, packets of dried soup, and the occasional paddling pool – which help keep the soldiers cool during rest time.

The woollies are labelled “designer” as a joke.

In a thankyou letter, one female senior aircraftman wrote: “We were delighted to find the designer hand-made hats! She said the hats were “marvellous gifts and very much appreciated”.

“It’s nice to know that those back home appreciate the work we do and to go to the effort of making boxes.”

Another flight sergeant wrote how “delighted” the RAF personnel were with their new hats, saying it was a “huge morale booster”.

We have previously reported how dozens of county people donate goods off to the Kempsey couple, who then pack and send them off.

To donate, call 01905 828107 or call in direct at 8 Brookend Lane.