One of the last events of Town Mayor Councillor Mervyn Hall’s term of office was a charity football match (May 1) in aid of the two charities he has been supporting through the year – Julia’s House – the Dorset and Wiltshire Children’s Hospices – and Home-Start Kennet – providing support for families across the area.
The evening game saw Marlborough Town Football Club take on a team from the 4 Military Intelligence Battalion (4 MI) – Marlborough’s adopted army unit. Both teams had a good sprinkling of supporters – along the touch line as well as closer to the club house and its bar.
The Marlborough Town team had a few reserves playing. They have an important game coming up this weekend and did not want to take risks with players.
It was a hard fought game with some excellent defensive work from Marlborough and some good attacking moves from the 4MI team.
The Battalion’s Commanding Officer, Lt Col Simon Puxley, and the Town Mayor, Councillor Mervyn Hall were there – and before the game began the 4MI captain presented the Marlborough captain with the battalion’s shield to mark the occasion – and take its place in the club house.
The shield, of course, includes the greyhound motif that is also present on Marlborough own coat of arms.
The result? 4MI Battalion 3 (Ian Bateman 2, Pete Stronach 1), Marlborough 2 (Nathan Gooden 1, Ben Crane 1).
And representatives from the two charities were busy with their buckets collecting contributions.