Boost to soldier’s memorial trust

The memorial trust of a soldier killed in Afghanistan has received a welcome boost from Thamesfield Retirement Village - after the country house was used as a tv set.
 
The stunning Victorian building on the banks of the river in Henley-on-Thames was chosen to double as a riverside nursing home for the new series of popular police drama Midsomer Murders. A tv crew from the ITV show spent a day filming in the landscaped gardens and outside the main entrance. They also used an apartment, owned by Mrs Dawn Turner, which will feature as the crime scene.
 
Mrs Turner’s grandson Dougie Dalzell was killed earlier this year, on his 27th birthday, while serving with the Coldstream Guards in Afghanistan.
 
The owner of Thamesfield – Retirement Villages Ltd – is donating its fee from the television company to the memorial trust set up in Lieutenant Dalzell’s name to support injured soldiers from the regiment.
 
“The staff and the residents were all very excited to have a tv crew here for the day,” said Village Manager Rhona Price. “The most surprising thing was how long it took them to film each scene – hours sometimes for just a few seconds on screen.
 
“Mrs Turner’s apartment was used by the television crew. She, and the rest of her family, were devastated when Lt Dalzell was killed in February. It seemed fitting that we should donate the fee we got to the memorial trust in his name.”
 
Midsomer Murders, starring Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby, is one of the most popular tv shows among residents of the retirement village.
 
“We understand the episode featuring Thamesfield is going to be screened next year,” said Rhona, “We’re going to hold a special ‘Thamesfield’s on the television’ party and all watch it together.”
 
Thamesfield was also one of the stop off points for a team of three oarsmen rowing 100 miles along the Thames in a 100 year old Skiff – called Success – in an effort to raise money for the memorial trust. The team was welcomed by both Mrs Turner and members of Thamesfield’s staff. The money raised will pay for a crew of amputees from Lt Dalzell’s regiment to experience a sea voyage.

To donate to Lt Dalzell trust visit: dougiedalzellmemorialtrust.co.uk/