England

Dover cliffs tribute to British soldiers

ABF The Soldiers’ Charity has projected a flag featuring thousands of people’s faces onto the White Cliffs of Dover as the finale to its ‘Thanks, Soldier’ campaign.

The online campaign, launched on 1 December 2011, invited Facebook users to add their profiles to an interactive Union Jack flag and post messages to Britain’s servicemen and women.

Close to 6000 people joined in with celebrities like Joanna Lumley, Gary Lineker, Dame Vera Lynn and Richard Hammond signing up.

Several politicians also lent their support including Prime Minister David Cameron, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond.

The Soldiers’ Charity Chief Executive, Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, said:

“There has been such fantastic response to our ‘Thanks, Soldier’ campaign. This flag is a symbol of the appreciation the nation has for our soldiers and the Armed Forces in general. As well as saying ‘Thanks, Soldier’, we’d like to say thank you to everyone who visited, added their faces and made it happen.”

Over the past year, The Soldiers’ Charity has supported over 80 specialist charities and some 4,000 individuals. It has seen a 12% increase in the number of grants to individuals and a 17% increase in the cost of grants to individuals. The charity’s oldest beneficiary during the year was 104 and the youngest was 18 months old. The average grant The Soldiers’ Charity makes is £800.