Aim of the fund.
The aim of the Appeal is to give enduring support to Light Dragoons wounded on operations or in regimental service, to their families, and to the families of those killed on duty.
Major General ARE de C Stewart CB CBE, Colonel of the Regiment
"Much has been made in recent years of the Military Covenant, that lifelong contract between the Serviceman and his Country. Much has been done, both by government and national charities. Nevertheless, the Regimental family will always need to play its part in that enduring contract as the natural, first port of call: to fill any gaps that the State cannot provide, or to act as the catalyst to encourage other, larger charities to help. The launching of The Light Dragoons Colonel's Appeal is to ensure that we can continue to do this."
Funds Raised so Far
£605,000 raised and
£50,000 In pledges.
as at May 2012
The Light Dragoons Colonel's Appeal Fund is centrally controlled and held within the Light Dragoons Charitable Fund.
Registered charity No. 1041982.
Light Dragoons website
The Colonel's Appeal Chairman's Message
It is now well over a year since the Light Dragoons launched their Colonel's Appeal. I somehow became the Chairman of the Appeal and using my well worn management technique of 'delegation without monitoring' set to work. It is also just over a year since Mel Tazey took over at HHQ LD and he, Dicky Bird and Pam Anderson were faced with the task of not only running HHQ LD but also coordinating the Appeal, handling the paperwork, managing the accounts, distributing the letters etc. and operating/updating the website. Mel came up with the idea of getting someone into help and so he turned to his brother-in-law who was enjoying early retirement and had a deep connection to Regiment and was willing to help. Without the Home Headquarters team the Appeal would have busily gone nowhere.
We set out to raise the magic million; we are over half way there, the money has come from three sources:
Firstly- Members of the LD Association have been very generous, lead from the front by HM The Colonel in Chief. No one has queried the need and many have given substantial amounts. Could I ask, therefore, if you have not given to please consider doing so as LD will be deploying again to Afghanistan in April 2012 and while we hope that we have a less bloody tour we may not.
Secondly- Sponsored ordeals have raised significant sums. Riding from London to Edinburgh, walking to the North Pole, rowing the Indian Ocean, bicycling around Suffolk, climbing Mount Kenya, traversing the Pennines and opening gardens near Newcastle have all contributed substantially to the Appeal. All of us on the Appeal Committee are more than grateful for and more than impressed by their stamina, their fortitude and their thoughtfulness.
Thirdly, All our committees are very busy, Barnsley organising the Three Peaks and Fashion Night, Newcastle with its "To Helmand and Back" and 20/20 Cricket, and the combined committee efforts for the "Charge" Classic Interesting Car Rally. The South West with lunch at Badminton Horse Trials and the beautiful Dorset Garden Evening event. We should also congratulate Paul Gummer and Adam Smith for the hugely successful Evening of Endeavour
So now we go forward into the second year. The committee are aware that unlike ABF, SSAFA, and Help the Heroes etc. we can only appeal within our recruiting areas and within the Association. I therefore believe that due to a lot of effort by a lot of busy people we have done very well indeed. That said we are only half way to our target.
I would like to thank all those who have contributed so far and look forward to the challenge of year two of the Appeal.
