Rifleman Luke Farmer, 19, of Third Avenue, died in an explosion near Sangin in Helmand province on January 15.

His funeral will be held at 10am at Wakefield Cathedral on Friday and as a mark of respect the Express has organised for a minute's silence to take place at noon in memory of Luke and other fallen heroes.

Schools and colleges, town, parish and district councillors, Wakefield and District Housing and Wakefield Council staff, NHS employees, Hemsworth MP Jon Trickett and his team and staff at the Express, will be among those falling silent.

They will be joined by hundreds of people across the district and beyond – many who have shown their support for the campaign by signing up to it on social networking site facebook.

For the full story see tomorrow's Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express.

Also in this week's paper:

- A rugby game held in memory of Luke and Upton rugby fan James Priestley raised £10,000, we have the full story and pictures.

- South Elmsall's youngsters will be given a boost with plans for a £50,000 play area.

- An Upton headteacher has warned against wasting police time after he was falsely accused of assaulting a child.

- A con man who used a false name to scam a mortgage for a Hemsworth property has been jailed.

- A second Three Towns Community Bus will provide more door-to-door transport for passengers in the SESKU area.

- Fiction fans have been brought to book after racking up library fines across the district.

In sport:

- Frickley Athletic have agreed a record five-figure sponsorship deal with Tech5.

- Hemsworth RUFC continue their impressive start to 2010.


All this and more in your Hemsworth and South Elmsall Express.


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