Please send a parcel to our brave paras (From Worcester News)

Please send a parcel to our brave paras

4:30am Friday 15th August 2008

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PEOPLE are being urged to write letters of support and send free parcels filled with goodies to Worcestershire soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

The Parachute Regiment is on tour of duty in Helmand province and former paratrooper Peter Elcock said the men and women were often forgotten about.

“We have got lots of Worcestershire lads and lasses all over the Armed Forces but, having been a Paratrooper myself, I know the regiment doesn’t have any close affiliations with anywhere because they recruit from all over the country and the commonwealth,” he said.

Mr Elcock, who was also senior recruiter at the Army Careers Office in Foregate Street, Worcester, for five years before he retired to become a mortgage broker, said he knew some soldiers on tour were from the city.

He said he now wanted to tap into the upswell of support for 2nd Battalion Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) following their gruelling tour last year.

“The Paras are halfway through their tour and they have had about eight deaths and 50-odd sent home injured,” said Mr Elcock, of Rushwick, near Worcester. “They are at the sharp end of things, so sending a parcel would be a nice morale boost and would show them they haven’t been forgotten.

Mr Elcock, who spent more than 30 years in the armed forces, said the best things to send were non-perishable goods, tinned fruit, and sweets, but not aerosols.

“They would also really appreciate sport socks,” he said. “The Army issued them with arctic socks, which are fine for the training they go through, but because of the climate out there they sweat a lot and they are going through underwear and socks at an alarming rate.”

Mr Elcock said the Parachute Regiment, which is due to finish its tour in October, would also like to receive letters of support. Anybody wishing to send a parcel, which must weigh less than 2kg (4.4 pounds) to qualify for the free post service, should address it to: A Paratrooper, 2 Para, Camp Bastion, OP Herrick 8, BFPO 792. Army airmail letters can be posted free from the Post Office.

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