Battle Back appeal goes out on a high

The Battle Back appeal has raised £14,000 in aid of Help for Heroes’ Phoenix House Recovery Centre in North Yorkshire since 2011.

And the final task for the team was to present the money to Nev and Margaret Smith, of Help for Heroes, and Lucy Wray from Phoenix House during a Burns’ Night event.

Appeal member Tim Wood said: “We’re delighted. Over the last two-and-a-half years people have gone off to do different projects, but we did it and we got there thanks to a massive donation from the Bobtown Beer Bash.”

Charity events, including a popular annual ball, helped to raise £10,000.

And a further £4,000 was added to the total thanks to match funding by Barclays.

Guests at the event included staff from Phoenix House as well as servicemen and women who have been treated at the new facility.

They were joined by founding members of the appeal – Coun David Pinder, Mark and Sue Andrews, Alex Nordoff, Tim Bryson and Mr Wood.

Les Cutts and Jim Gowler, who ran several successful race nights for the appeal, were also there to mark the occasion.

Mr Wood said: “We’ll continue fundraising in a different direction now through Mirfield Rifle Volunteers.”

The new group plans to support two different charities each year – one service charity and one local charity.

The beneficiaries in 2014 will be Blind Veterans UK and Kirkwood Hospice.

And the Rifle Volunteers wasted no time, raising £1,500 on Saturday evening.

The Burns’ Night, which was supported with match funding from Barclays, included traditional Scottish fare and a raffle.

Events in the pipeline include a race night, a golden oldies night and a Three Peaks Challenge.

Visit the group’s Facebook page for more details.