Pictured left to right Armed Forces Engagement Officer Mike Jeffery, who leads the Veterans Hub, Anthony Johnson CCFC Veterans Hub member and Mike Spear.
An impressive memorial wall has been completed at the garden created at the Cardiff City Stadium after local volunteers and businesses came together to make it happen.
Trust vice-chair Mike Spear, who is a member of the Veterans Hub, said: “The vision of Cardiff City Football Club Veterans Hub was to create a memorial wall and we are all thrilled at its completion.
“A huge shout-out is due to Malcolm McCann and his staff at McCann Building Services in Penarth which built and provided much of the materials for the wall free of charge. Leckwith Concrete Products supplied the blocks, again free of charge. Without their support, this would not have been developed.
“The initial groundwork and the construction of the footings was carried out by members of the Veterans Hub led by Armed Forces Engagement Officer Mike Jeffery, who manages and leads the Veterans Hub.
“The final part was the patio which was recently completed by Veterans Hub members and the materials for this part of the project was paid for by Cardiff City Supporters’ Trust, which supported the development of a memorial garden from the start. City fan Andrew Weeks of Barry also came to the rescue and loaned us his slab-cutting machine when the one we had hired failed.”
Mike Spear said that the next project for the Memorial Garden would be the acquisition of an 8ft x 10ft metal-type container to be situated next to it. It will house water and various gardening equipment. Presently, much of the equipment is scattered around local veterans’ homes, and some are supplied by club ground staff on request. With new plots in the garden being requested at a rising rate, having equipment at hand is essential.
“Fundraising for a container will take place starting with raffles this season on the Canton Bluebirds away day coach, known as The Funbus, which is run by myself. We are also looking at the possibility of launching a GoFundMe page or something similar for the purpose of this and equipment needed for future work.”
“In the meantime, if there are any City fans out there that may just have such a container knocking around that they would like to donate, please get in touch with me through the Trust website.”