Royal ally as Shropshire clothing firm joins forces with para team
Wounded and injured soldiers have found themselves a strong new ally – in the form of a Shropshire clothing company and Prince Harry.
The unusual alliance has been set up to help accelerate the recovery of disabled armed forces men and women, both serving and veteran, attracting the attention of the prince, well-known for his support of forces' charities.
Oswestry-based Sewprint Workwear, a firm that specialises in personalised workwear, staff uniforms and customised clothing, has thrown its weight behind one of the lesser-known armed forces charities, Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST), producing its merchandise and helping with its online presence.
The move has also resulted in the Shropshire-produced clothing featuring in what the Discovery Channel rates "the toughest foot race in the world" – six marathons in six days in the Sahara Desert, as well as a T-shirt produced by the firm being presented to the prince.
Angie Roome, sales director at Sewprint, said: "All this came about as a result of some work we did for one of the army officers, Major Elizabeth Burgess, based at the Sir Thomas Moore Barracks in Winchester, Hampshire.
"Originally, Major Burgess asked us to create some personalised sports and leisurewear for the new Army recruits at the barracks.
"But it turns out that Major Burgess is one of the trustees for a charity called the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team (AFPST)."
AFPST is a charity run by military and ex-military volunteers and uses adaptive alpine skiing and snowboarding to enhance people's recovery from wounds, injuries or sickness.
It was in April that Prince Harry visited the Armed Forces Para-Snowsport Team. Members of the team told the prince about the charity's work and presented him with an AFPST T-shirt produced by Sewprint.
Angie and Ian – who live just outside Oswestry and whose company is based at the Fort Artillery Business Park – say they are so proud to be involved with the charity.
A spokesman for the charity said: "Our aim is to aid the recovery of serving and veteran wounded, injured and sick through performance para-snowsport.
"The AFPST improves the confidence, resilience and skill of every disabled athlete through individual investment and high-quality coaching."
Further details on the charity are available at afpst.co.uk
