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Help for Heroes Garden Gets Royal Seal of Approval
[20/08/2009]A garden that was built to raise the profile of the charity campaign Help for Heroes got the royal seal of approval at the Sandringham Flower Show.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall dropped by to congratulate the designers who included Otley College lecturer (Jody Lidgard) and a group of Otley students.
Jody, (who used to be an RAF gunner 14 years ago) was inspired to create the garden " that housed a camouflaged tank - because of his time in the forces.
The idea behind the build was to raise awareness and funds for the Help for Heroes charity campaign and bracelets and plants were sold, generating a donation for the well respected charity.
Jody Lidgard, said, “The idea for the garden came about from my childhood dream of becoming a soldier. I was fortunate enough to realise my dream and upon joining the RAF Regiment I was trained on Light Armour at RAF Catterick. This garden design is based around the tank training I received there. An element of this was to turf and camouflage the vehicles and carry out routine operations.”
He added, “Having been in the armed forces, I understand the commitment and passion demonstrated by British troops who continually put their lives on the line to defend our nation, therefore to be able to recognise this by playing a small part in raising the profile of the excellent Help for Heroes charity is an absolute pleasure.”
The garden will now be disassembled and transported to RAF Honington.
Once at Honington the garden will be reconstructed where it will form part of a garden of remembrance that will be officially opened in February 2010.
The garden also received a gold award at Sandringham.