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Updated
01-07-08 08:00
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Joint Commander's Commendation Craig was awarded a Joint Commander's Commendation at a ceremony held in Fulwood Barracks, Preston recently. The commendation was presented by Major General Hamish Rollo and represented Craig's actions during his time in Basra and following. View the press coverage HERE Lunch with Her Majesty
On Thursday 27th June, Craig was presented to Her Majesty The Queen following the presentation of new Colours to his regiment. The Queen chatted with Craig and Mum, Debbie about his incident and things following his recovery. Whilst inevitably honoured, Craig was also delighted to be re-acquainted with his colleagues of Recce Platoon and to be reunited with "Northy", the Army medic who's first aid undoubtedly had a major part in keeping him alive. To view the press coverage click HERE Craig speaks out for charity
Last week Craig was at RAF Woodvale where he delivered a speech to the 611 Air Cadet Squadron at RAF Woodvale. He was accompanied by Colin Williamson, a fellow veteran with severely limited vision. Colin now works for St Dunstan’s as a cadet challenge project officer and public speaker. The two visited Woodvale for the Cadet Challenge, which promotes the work of St Dunstan’s, the charity for ex- service men and women with significant loss of sight. Sheila Clemence, who supports the charity, also attended. She said:“ Craig spoke so well, fielded questions and was surrounded by cadets after the talk. They all wanted to hear his story.”
Craig was delighted to visit The Hyperbar in Liverpool recently where he received a cheque on behalf of his "Freddie Fund" for £1,000 from the management, staff and customers who have been fundraising to this target with raffles and quiz nights. A massive thanks from Craig to all who contributed and thanks for a great night. More Pics from The Hyperbar HERE Nine Tree Primary School Visit
On Friday 23rd May, Craig visited Nine Tree Primary School in Stockbridge Village, Liverpool. The children and staff of Nine Tree have been raising funds on behalf of Craig's "Freddie Fund" and presented a cheque for an amazing £880.00 to Craig at a special morning assembly. For pictures and more on this really special day, click HERE
The Big Battlefield Bike Ride
Craig and Phil have completed their epic 360 mile tandem ride across the French battlefields in aid of Headley Court. The journey started on 26th May and we've tracked their progress daily via a special Bike Ride Blog page we put together. For the info and progress reports on the bike ride click HERE To view our sponsors click HERE
London Marathon 2008
Craig's London Marathon raised £1,100 for St Dunstan's and The Daily Mirror are adding a further £1000 to it. Craig would like to thank everyone who sponsored him and also all who donated online following the run, along with the BBC who highlighted his efforts. (To see Craig's BBC interviews click HERE )
Craig receives a cheque from Roy Munnerly and Lockwoods staff Craig's "Freddie Fund" has recently increased thanks to some fantastic fundraising by the great people at Marks & Spencer, Lockwoods and Parfetts Wholesale in Liverpool. Family friend Elaine Munnerly and colleagues at Mark & Spencer got together and through their efforts have presented a cheque to Craig. Elaine's husband Roy has continued his brilliant fund raising at Lockwoods and has presented another cheque to the fund. The staff of Parfetts Wholesale in Aintree have also been busy raising funds and Craig visited them to thank them in person and receive a cheque for the "Freddie Fund".
Craig with the "Freddie fundraising girls" at Parfetts Wholesale Craig is immensely grateful for the support of the "Freddie Fund" and to all involved.
Craig has recently taken part in the 8 mile Commando Memorial Speed March which is held annually at Spean Bridge in the Scottish highlands. Representing St Dunstan's, Craig, along with the gratefully appreciated assistance of Royal Signals Army Cadets from the Yorkshire ACF, completed the challenge and picked up an award in the process from the organising "Bootnecks". Click here for pictures
Craig has recently appeared in The Independent on Sunday as part of a feature produced by Stuart Griffiths on the effects on the lives of soldiers injured in Iraq. Stuart has produced a set of candid and powerful photographs and the magazine details their stories. To see the feature online and read the stories click here - ARTICLE To view the image gallery click here - IMAGES
Craig was delighted and honoured to be asked to visit Casterton School near Kirby Lonsdale on Tuesday 4th March. During his visit, Craig gave a talk about his life and experiences in Basra and also his road to recovery and his current life and experiences. His visit was well received and Craig would like to thank all governors, staff and pupils for their warm hospitality.
Craig has recently taken to the skies in his quest to master the art of flying. He took the controls of a light aircraft under the guidance of flying instructor Neil Hazelhurst at Liverpool Airport and has since been back for more. His inaugural flight was captured by Granada News who followed in a helicopter and can be seen in the video located on the Video Archive page.
Local Hero Award
Craig was delighted and honoured to be presented with a Gold Award at Radio City's Local Heroes Awards in Liverpool. Click here for more
Craig Helps To Launch Poppy Appeal
Craig spent Wednesday 24th October in London with the Royal British Legion to help launch this years Poppy Appeal. He was approached by the Legion who asked if he would be one of "the faces" for this years appeal. He was honoured to be asked and readily agreed. Following an early start with the BBC Breakfast live interview, a major press conference followed to officially open this years poppy appeal where he gave short interviews to a collection of media folk from TV and the popular press. Click here for more
Craig Receives Mersey Marvel Award
Craig has been presented with a Mersey Marvel award by the editor of the Liverpool Echo, Alastair Machray. He is deeply honoured and proud to have been awarded such recognition for just going about things in what he considers a natural way. More here
Germany Calling
Becki presents Craig with his DOLR tankard Craig had a flying visit from Becki Flemming, wife of Carl, a Sgt with the 1st Battalion Duke of Lancs, during a whistle stop tour back in the UK. Becki kindly presented Craig with a regimental tankard on behalf of the commanding officer, Lt Colonel Gary Deakin and the 1st Battalion Duke of Lancaster's. Fancy Seeing You Here!
Joining forces with the St Dunstan's Awareness Team During a visit to the Southport Air Show, we stumbled across a familiar stall on the beach. Manned by the St Dunstan's Awareness Team, and led by Graham Footer, the stall encourages visitors to find out more about St Dunstan's and its role. Craig ended up spending most of the day with the gang chatting with members of the public and soon found himself a captive audience.
The Freddie Fund Grows
Close family friend and "Freddie Fundraiser" Roy Munnerly and the staff at Lockwoods (Liverpool) Limited raised a massive £500 contribution for "The Freddie Fund" with their weekly "spot the number" ticket. Roy is pictured along with a colleague from Lockwoods presenting the donation to Craig. A huge thanks to Roy and everyone at Lockwoods from all at "The Freddie Fund".
Daisy UK
Craig with Eva, Steve, Dave, Ryan, Kelly & Sarah Thanks to the support and friendship he has developed with Dave, Eva & Steve @ Daisy UK, Craig has been continually involved with their sports activities for disabled kids, and gets a tremendous amount of satisfaction working with them. His interaction with the group is highly rewarding and, if it needed it, his confidence and personal communication skills are greatly benefiting from his involvement. Craig has become quite a magnet to some of the kids and he loves working with them at every opportunity. Daisy UK provide sports activities for mainly visually impaired youngsters but also deliver similar sessions for non disabled groups, helping to encourage interaction at all levels. The work they do is outstanding and allows children of all abilities to play together at the same level. To visit the Daisy UK website click HERE
Yellow Ribbon Foundation Donates To "Freddie Fund"
Craig has received a donation of £100 from the Yellow Ribbon Foundation to the "Freddie Fund" and in particular in respect of his presentation of memorial benches in honour of his fallen friends Adam Smith and Alan Jones. This is a fantastic gesture from YRF and Craig would like to thank Vicki Evans and all at YRF for their continued support.
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Freddie's Friends
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