Pupils from Windsor School at JHQ were recently presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by Rhine Garrison Commander, Brigadier John Watson, in recognition of their valuable contribution to The Force’s Childrens’ Trust.

At the end of June over 420 pupils and staff took part in a sponsored walk covering 21 kms around the forest outside JHQ, raising an impressive €3,200 towards the charity.

The Trust was founded in 2004 by Denny Wise who, with his extensive show-business background and contacts, has spent years of dedication to fundraising for good causes. Most of these have a strong service background, and he set up the Forces Children’s Trust following the many heart breaking stories that emerged of the losses of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.  It was realised that the children of these soldiers were the forgotten victims of conflict and this was not being fully addressed by existing charities.  So in order to fill this gap, the Trust is devoted to helping children in need, whose father has either died or has been severely wounded while serving in the British Armed Forces.

Denny Wise sent the students a letter of congratulation saying “It gives me great pleasure in including your sterling efforts on our web site and you should all be very proud of what you have achieved for forces children less fortunate than you”.

Pupil Ainsley O’Neill was one of the walkers taking part.  She said “We didn’t do any formal training before the walk.  I feel that it was a really good thing to do and I think everybody should give it a go, just for the feel good factor”.

Emily Hill-Paul also took part in the 21 k walk and said “It was well hard.  I have blisters all over my feet and had to cover them in plasters, but it was worth it to raise the money”.

Brigadier Watson accepted the cheque for the trust and said “The charity has grown considerably in the last five years, allowing it to improve the lives of many children.  It relies entirely on the generosity of its donors and is very grateful for the fantastic amount of money raised by Windsor School as a result of the sponsored walk”.

Head Master, Brian Davies, was impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of both pupils and staff alike and said “It was a tremendous effort from them all.  This is a charity that supports service kids so it was apt that kids from forces families should set out to support this cause.  It’s a charity very close to the heart of the school and we’re delighted to have raised so much money”.