Melton historian's widow prepares for Great War battlefields trek

The widow of a Melton war historian who dedicated his free time to researching the lives and service of fallen Melton soldiers is to trek through First World War battlefields in his memory to raise thousands of pounds for the Royal British Legion.
Fran Hearn, who plans to do a 65-mile trek through First World War battlefields to raise money for the Royal British Legion in memory of her late husband, Trevor EMN-180724-091634001Fran Hearn, who plans to do a 65-mile trek through First World War battlefields to raise money for the Royal British Legion in memory of her late husband, Trevor EMN-180724-091634001
Fran Hearn, who plans to do a 65-mile trek through First World War battlefields to raise money for the Royal British Legion in memory of her late husband, Trevor EMN-180724-091634001

Fran Hearn (63), who lost beloved husband, Trevor, last August, will walk around 65 miles in five days, from the French town of Amiens to Ypres in Belgium.

She has arleady passed her initial fundraising target of £1,400 and is hoping to raise much more by the time she sets out on the organised trek in September.

Trevor, who was 73 when he passed away, was a familiar face to visitors to Melton Carnegie Library.

War historian Trevor Hearn, with a medal from the First World War, who died at the age of 73. Picture: Tim Williams EMN-180724-122813001War historian Trevor Hearn, with a medal from the First World War, who died at the age of 73. Picture: Tim Williams EMN-180724-122813001
War historian Trevor Hearn, with a medal from the First World War, who died at the age of 73. Picture: Tim Williams EMN-180724-122813001

He wrote books about local service personnel killed in major conflicts and he was instrumental in getting the information boards put up in the town’s Memorial Gardens with details and photos about the fallen.

Fran, who decided to do the trek after reading about it in a legion magazine, said: “It just sparked something in me and I thought it would give me something to focus on.

“Trevor would have loved to have done something like this.

“His grandfather was killed on The Somme, which is one of the places I will walk through.

“It will be quite emotional visiting all these places that he spent so long researching.”

Go online at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/trevor-hearn1westernfronttrek to sponsor Fran.