COMMONWEALTH War graves at a Sheldon Church have been spruced up thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers.
A team of youngsters on a 12-week programme from the Chelmsley Wood Prince’s Trust joined forces with Shirley-based civil engineering company, MV Kelly, and West Midlands Police to give the area a revamp.
The Prince’s Trust group found out that St Giles Church in Sheldon contained several Commonwealth War Graves, but the grounds were very overgrown, with the war graves in particular in a bad state of disrepair.
The group of 16 to 25-year-olds then headed MV Kelly headquarters in Shirley to present a Dragon’s Den style pitch to determine if the project was worthy of investment in the required materials and some manpower to assist.
Over the next fortnight, the group turned up every day along with some help from MV Kelly and also two Police Community Support Officers from the police force to cut back the overgrown grass, renovate the graves and transform the bed at the front of the Church Road site.
Kelly Linnett, MV Kelly chief executive, said: “The Prince’s Trust is one of a number of Charitable and Community Projects that we support.
“We are very keen to give back to local communities and encourage the valuable work these charities undertake.
“This particular project resonated as War Graves are a subject close to many people’s hearts so to see a group of young people having the passion and drive to renovate St Giles’ grounds and in particular the War Graves, was very uplifting and something we were proud to support and be a part of.”
