RELATIVES of a Golcar soldier who died in Afghanistan are raising money in his memory.
Lance Corporal Graham Shaw, 27, (pictured) was killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province on February 1.
Three members of his family are taking part in the Sheffield 10K Run to raise money for the Yorkshire Regiment Benevolent Fund.
L-Cpl Shaw’s cousin Rhianna Dyson is part of the team of six in training for the event.
The 28-year-old from Oakes said: “We decided to do the run because Graham loved running. He used to do a lot of it when he was training or on exercises, he could run 25 miles no problem.”
Rhianna will be joined by L-Cpl Shaw’s sister Joanne Townend, 32, from Scapegoat Hill and his sister-in-law Simone Hands, 21, from Golcar.
Joanne’s friends Amanda Benner, 37, Philippa Turner, 29, and Sarah Mitchell 31, all from Golcar, are also taking part. The women are in training for the run, which takes place on Sunday, September 5.
Rhianna said: “I’ve been running round Lindley, Oakes and Marsh but I’m not a natural. Most of the family are coming down to Sheffield to cheer us on and I’ll need all their support.”
After the morning race, the family will head to Scapegoat Hill Liberal Club for an afternoon of fundraising, including a raffle and tombola.
Rhianna explained that the family wanted to raise money for the Yorkshire Regiment Benevolent Fund because it had helped L-Cpl Shaw’s parents Karen and Russ get from their home in Bulgaria to England following his death. She said: “The fund paid for them to go from Bulgaria back to England and then got them down to Wootton Bassett to be on the tarmac when Graham’s coffin arrived home.
To sponsor L-Cpl Shaw’s relatives email:rhiannadyson@yahoo.co.uk
