EVERARDS have pledged their support for the Friends of the Tenth’s fund-raising by giving ‘wings’ to the mission to create a special memorial.
The award-winning and family-run business are backing our bid to raise £75,000 by brewing a special guest beer called ‘Myrtle’ to commemorate her association with the 10th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment when they were stationed in Somerby.
In September this year and again twelve months later, five pence will be donated by Everards from sales of each pint of a red ale which has been named after Myrtle the Parachick, a hen adopted by the Battalion who earned her ‘Para Wings’ at the Battle of Arnhem.
The special ‘Myrtle’ ale will be available to Everards’ 178 pubs throughout Leicestershire and the surrounding areas during those two months.
Everards’ Head of Marketing Erika Hardy said the Leicestershire-based company were proud to be giving their support to such a worthy local cause.
“As a local brewery, this fits perfectly within our programme of brewing guest beers for a month which celebrate or support our community,” she commented.
“When we heard about the Friends of the Tenth campaign, we saw this as an excellent opportunity to get involved and to help boost the fund-raising by donating five pence from the sale of each pint of Myrtle during September this year and again in 2018.”
She added: “An important part of our creation of a guest beer is ensuring that it bears some relation to the event or story behind it, which is the case with Myrtle.
“This is a red ale brewed with pilot and flyer hops with an aroma of stoned fruit, treacle toffee and caramel with lemon, spicy, marmalade on the descent.”
Alec Wilson, Chairman of the Friends of the Tenth, said: “This is a fantastic start for the campaign to get one of our major local companies on board.
“Raising such a substantial amount of money will be quite a challenge, so to have this level of support from Everards is a big step towards our target.”
“The story of Myrtle is one of many fascinating tales which emanated from the Battalion’s association with Somerby and the surrounding villages.”
He added: “The fact that this will take place in September is of great significance because that is when we have an annual commemoration service and parade in memory of those who took part in the drop behind enemy lines in September 1944.”
*Picture caption: Cheers Myrtle – former paras John Gibbard, Jack Gilbert and Alan Staff sample the special brew while Tim Hall-Wilson, fund raiser and former Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, pulls the first pints of Myrtle at the Cradock Arms.
*You can read the full story of Myrtle the Parachick by going to www.friends.co.uk/myrtle
