Wick Thistle community spirit on show again with memorial garden task
An overgrown area of Wick’s World War II memorial garden has been tidied up by a community-minded amateur football club.
A group of stalwarts of Wick Thistle, with assistance from local firm GMR Henderson, cleared a prominent raised section in readiness for perennial flowers to be planted next year.
It was the latest in a series of tasks carried out by Thistle at the memorial garden in Bank Row.
In June, players, committee members and others put in more than 80 bedding plants as well as carrying out weeding and other jobs.
In October last year they braved hail, sleet and rain to help plant hundreds of spring bulbs as well as doing weeding.
Ex-player and former committee member Raymond Watt, a keen gardener, was determined to tackle the overgrown section to the side of the main garden.
On Saturday, Raymond set about transforming this area along with Andrew Henderson, Arthur Bruce and Tom Sutherland.
Andrew is the club chairman, while Arthur is a former player and manager and an ex-committee member. While neither Raymond nor Arthur are on the current committee, they are very much still involved in the club.
Tom is treasurer and has been with Thistle for nearly 40 years as a player, manager and committee member.
Andrew said: “As the area was badly overgrown, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to do it on our own.
“After a phone call to local businessmen and long-term Thistle sponsors Gerry and Logan Henderson, they were more than happy to assist with the project. They kindly said that we could get a loan of one of their small machines for the day.”
GMR Henderson employee Calum Miller gave up his free time on Saturday morning to drive the machine.
“Calum also comes from a long family tradition of being involved with the club,” Andrew pointed out. “His late grandfather Callum Miller, uncle David and father Michael from MM Miller were among the club’s first sponsors in the early 1990s.
“As a club we are very grateful to the family for their continued support over the years.
“It took just over two hours to remove all the overgrown grass, weeds and excess soil from the raised bedding area and lower border.
“We will leave this over the winter and come late March, with help from the team, committee and friends, we will go back and prepare the soil for planting the perennial flowers.
“Raymond has put a lot of time into this and he has a design of what plants to get and where they should be planted – so that come the summer, year after year, this area will be a mass of colour.”
Thistle, who play in the Caithness amateur football league, have donated thousands of pounds to local charities and good causes over the years. They run a weekly lotto draw to raise funds for the running of the club and also to support the community.
Andrew said: “We have various charities and good causes that we support each year, but giving up time to help preserve and tidy up areas like the memorial garden is massively rewarding for everyone.
“This is part of the history of the town, and a tourist attraction. If in any way we can help to make it better for the town, and most importantly for the garden committee, we will try our best.
“It was especially fitting for everyone involved to do this over the remembrance weekend.”
The garden is looked after by the voluntary group Second World War Air Raid Victims Wick.
Volunteer gardener Yvonne Hendry said: “Wick Thistle have been incredibly supportive and their valuable help is appreciated by everyone connected with the memorial garden.
“People find the garden a peaceful place to sit and reflect.”
The memorial garden was created on the site where eight children and seven adults lost their lives in an air raid in July 1940. It commemorates the victims of that attack as well as the three people who died in October the same year in a raid on Hill Avenue.
The garden was officially opened in 2010.
