Funds donated to hero firefighters appeal
June 15th 2010
A Summer Family Funday has helped raise over £3,600 for an appeal honouring the memory of two firefighters who tragically died whilst tackling a Southampton fire.
The event was organised by Connaught Partnerships Ltd in memory of local firefighters Alan Bannon and James Shears who died when attending a blaze on the ninth floor of the nearby Shirley Towers.
Connaught staff invited local families to attend the event held at Holy Family Church in Redbridge Hill which featured a gymnastics and street dance display by Redbridge School, a barbecue and a raffle offering prizes including free entrance to Marwell Zoo and Paultons Family Theme Park, Red Funnel ferry tickets to the Isle of Wight and the star prize of a signed and framed Southampton Football shirt.
The event was also attended by Red and White Watch from Redbridge Hill Fire Station and Southampton FC legend Francis Benali and in total raised £3619.16 for the Heroes Appeal. Valerie McClelland, Connaught customer experience manager, said: “We wanted to put this event on to show that we care and to honour the memories of Alan and James. We have very close ties to the fire service and the tragedy touched every one of us.
“We were actually scheduled to commence working in Shirley Towers around the time of the fire so it hit us all extremely hard and we wanted to show that our thoughts are very much with the friends and families of both Alan and James.”