Ground-breaking day at Wellingore

A team of enthusiastic volunteers worked through the cold and rain at High Flight Memorial Park in Wellingore, kicking off Lincolnshire Co-op's Big Co-op Clean events.

Local people with a passion for green spaces, along with colleagues from Lincolnshire Co-op, spent the day sprucing up pathways, clearing weeds and tidying flowerbeds to make way for the community memorial park that is currently being developed by Wellingore Parish Council. The space will commemorate the famous author and Pilot Officer John Magee, who sadly died in the area in 1941. His poem ‘High Flight’ has since become a symbol of the forces.

Chairman of the Parish Council Roger Cole said: “People from all over the world visit Wellingore and are surprised that we don’t have a memorial for John Magee. This is now becoming a reality thanks to the people who are here today, supporting our work and helping us break ground to create the memorial park. It’s been a truly landmark day for the project.”

Colleagues came from a variety of Lincolnshire Co-op outlets, including Tritton Road funeral home, Head Office, and St Boltoph’s Pharmacy in Lincoln, Navenby Food Store, Newark Funeral home and Bracebridge Heath Food Store.

Richard Busby was formerly in the RAF, and now works within the Society’s Health and Safety team. He said: “It’s important to create and sustain memorial parks like High Flight, as they’re a place to pay our respects to the sacrifice made by previous generations. It’s those sacrifices that enable us to enjoy the freedoms that we have today.”

There’s still plenty of time to get involved with a Big Co-op Clean and support a local green space!