Unilever : 700 Port Sunlight volunteers recruited for the Great Send Off

04/09/2014

The 700 Port Sunlight volunteers will travel from Port Sunlight to Chester and walk to the Cheshire Military Museum at the Castle, accompanied by the Lyceum Brass Band. The volunteers will recreate the day, exactly 100 years ago, when 700 Lever Brothers employees undertook the same journey to enlist in the 13th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment. They were the largest group of volunteers from any works in the country to sign-up to fight in the First World War.

Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South, who will be travelling with the 'Port Sunlight Volunteers' to Chester said: "I am happy to be taking part in this important event marking the commencement of the First World War that had a pronounced and significant impact on every community in our country." Alison continued: "It is testament to the importance of this commemoration that so many would want to take part".

For the final stages of their walk to Chester Castle, the Port Sunlight Volunteers will be joined by soldiers from the 2nd Battalion of The Mercian Regiment, representatives from many ex-Service organisations, and Army Cadets and Air Training Corps who will be celebrating the centenary of the Battle of Mons for which a separate event is being staged in Chester.

Major Eddie Pickering, Curator of the Cheshire Military Museum and organiser of the association's annual Battle of Mons commemoration service and parade, said: "This year will be particularly special. Not only does it mark the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Mons where the 1st Battalion of The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment stood firm before an overwhelming enemy advance and suffered massive losses, but the two parades coming together, 1,000 people strong, really will be quite a spectacle and a very moving experience for all."

Those wishing to come and watch the event in either Port Sunlight or Chester are advised to visit www.portsunlightvillage.com(Link opens in a new window) for more information about event timings and road closures.

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About Unilever:

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. We work with 174,000 colleagues around the world and generated annual sales of €49.8 billion in 2013. Over half of our company's footprint is in the faster growing developing and emerging markets (57% in 2013). Working to create a better future every day, we help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Our portfolio includes some of the world's best known brands, 14 of which - Knorr, Persil / Omo, Dove, Sunsilk, Hellmann's, Surf, Lipton, Rexona / Sure, Wall's ice cream, Lux, Flora / Becel, Rama / Blue Band, Magnum and Axe / Lynx - now generate a turnover of €1 billion or more.

Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals, we have defined nine commitments, underpinned by targets encompassing social, environmental and economic areas. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/(Link opens in a new window) .

Unilever has been recognised in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes for 14 consecutive years. We are included in the FTSE4Good Index Series and attained a top environmental score of 5, leading to inclusion in the FTSE4Good Environmental Leaders Europe 40 Index. Unilever has been named sector leader of the CDP's Forests programme for three consecutive years, and in 2014 led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey - for the fourth year running. Unilever was named LinkedIn's third most sought-after employer worldwide in 2013.

For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.co.uk.