April 23, 2018 11.29 am This story is over 71 months old

Princess Diana’s sister unveils memorial to Lincolnshire road crash victims

An important day for victims and their families.

Princess Diana’s sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale unveiling the Lincolnshire Road Victims Memorial.

Princess Diana’s sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale released ten white doves into the sky to mark the opening of the Lincolnshire Road Victims Memorial this weekend.

The event signalled the conclusion of two years’ fundraising which came to £50,000 in total.

Fundraising was led by a small group led by Anne Bourne, of Boston, who lost her daughter in a crash in which four people died and five children were left without their mothers.

Her other daughter, who attended Saturday’s opening, had been seriously injured in the crash.

Photo: Boston Borough Council

Lady Sarah congratulated all involved in the endeavour as she officially declared open the area in the woods set aside for remembering loved ones and marked by a specially-carved memorial stone crafted by sculptor James Sutton, with a dedication and symbolic footsteps.

Matt Warman MP told how he had lost his own father, dying alone in the street from a heart attack ten years ago, followed six weeks later by his mother’s death from cancer.

He said he knew how valuable and important it was to remember and added that something positive had come out of tragedy.

Photo: Boston Borough Council

John Rose, of Churches Together in Lincolnshire, welcomed all, which included representatives from the county council and almost every district council in Lincolnshire families who had lost loved ones in road accidents.

He said: “This site is especially for you and we feel and care for you.”

Laynee Louise Crozier, 6, and Effie Hubbert, 2, presented Lady Sarah and Anne Bourne with bouquets.

Members of the committee each released a dove supplied by Dream Doves of Donington.

Members of the committee each released a dove supplied by Dream Doves of Donington.

The flower-lined path through the woods to the memorial space will later have the addition of a oak-built shelter.

Boston Woods Trust, which owns and manages the woodland on the outskirts of Boston, made the area available, alongside one of the avenues which all point towards Boston Stump in the distance.

Anne said: “It has been a long, hard slog and I couldn’t have done it without all the support I have had from group members. We have been bowled over by the generosity we have received from those who have made donations and supported the fundraising events. We are all very grateful.”

People can still make a donation by paying in to the Louise and Sarah Memorial Fund at Lloyds Bank, account number 01303486, sort code 30-91-04.

The campaign has been supported by Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership and Churches Together In All Lincolnshire.