Councillors hit the treadmill to fund war pilgrimage

The event will also see Couns Lubna Khan and Lian Pate run five kilometres on the gym’s new treadmills to help fund a trip by Army veterans to take part in a commemoration event on the First World War battlefields.

The fund-raisers will be joined on the treadmill by Burnley Leisure’s operations manager Scott Bryce.

The treadmill trio is supporting the Burnley and Padiham branch of the Royal British Legion, so its members can take part in the “Great Pilgrimage 90”.

A decade after the end of the war, veterans and war widows visited the battlefields of the Somme and Ypres before marching to the Menin Gate in Ypres on August 8th 1928.

This August, two representatives from every branch of the Royal British Legion are invited to carry their standards along the same route, representing an entire generation that served while defending their country.

Coun. Khan said: “We’re delighted to be able to help support the Royal British Legion’s fundraising campaign to take part in this historic commemoration event.

“Running five kilometers is a very small way of marking the immense contribution that members of our Armed Forces have made for our country.”

Anyone who would like to support this cause can donate directly at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lubna-khan.