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Date: 23 May 2012
Time: 17:22
Soldier’s friend raises £2,000 for centre
Story posted/last updated: 12 August 2010
When his close friend Joe Murphy was killed in Afghanistan, Bradley Woodbridge vowed to raise as much money as he could to help injured soldiers, in Joe’s memory.
Joe, who was just 18 when he died, was one of five soldiers from the 2nd Battalion the Rifles to be killed in two explosions near Sangin in Helmand on 10 July last year. Joe was carrying an injured colleague away from the scene of the first explosion when a second blast was triggered, killing the pair.
Bradley, 19, recently handed over a cheque for £2,000 to Senior Military Nurse Lt Harry Wallace, who received the donation on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) Charity. The money will go towards building a special new Forces and Families Centre for injured personnel to spend time with their loved ones in a relaxing, home-from-home environment.
Bradley, who lives in Castle Bromwich, said: “I’d known Joe since we were 14 and although we were at different schools we used to hang out together as often as we could at the weekend. He was really popular with everyone and a good laugh.
"We were worried about Joe going to Afghanistan but he was trained to do a job and he was part of a team which thought very highly of him. Raising money in Joe’s honour enables us to give something back.”
Bradley’s parents Ian and Sally organise an annual charity ladies’ night in Castle Bromwich every year. This year the event was dedicated to Joe.
Bradley added: “It’s amazing how the whole of Castle Bromwich have really got behind raising money. People are always very generous but I think they really got behind it this year because it was connected to Joe.”
The £2,000 brings the total raised by Joe’s friends and family to £14,000.
Mike Hammond, Chief Executive of the QEHB Charity, said: “We are very grateful to Bradley, his friends and family for donating so much money in memory of Joe. Funding such as this will help us create a Forces and Families Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for patients and their families to spend time together in a non-clinical environment.”
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