4:14pm Thursday 29th November 2007
By Pat Smith
A SOLDIER'S mother wept with emotion after an overwhelming response from Bromsgrove people to the call for Christmas presents for UK forces.
Shoppers outside Asda responded to an appeal in the Advertiser/Messenger with sacks of gifts for soldiers who will be spending the whole of the festive season fighting in Iraq.
Julia Holmes first launched the national Support our Soldiers Appeal in Bromsgrove last month and was joined by Maria O'Ryan, the mother of Philip Pimlott, who is shortly to be leaving Kuwait for Iraq.
Maria said: "When I realised how much we had collected I burst out crying - I was speechless.
" You don't think people care any more, but this is proof that they do. If the response is heartwarming for me, just think how the soldiers will feel."
She said about 300 boxes would be going from the town to a central depot in York for delivery to the troops.
Maria added: "The parcels include Christmas cards and messages to say they are from the people of Bromsgrove. I know morale is pretty low at the moment so these gifts are going to be very important when they arrive."
She added that any items which could not be sent, such as aerosols, were to be donated to the military unit for injured soldiers based at Selly Oak Hospital.
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