Gifts for frontline troops flooded in after The Falkirk Herald launched its 'Remember Our Heroes: Past and Present' initiative.

Donations have been arriving by the sackload at the Herald's offices, with similar scenes taking at our sister papers' offices across Central Scotland.

From schoolchildren to pensioners, church congregations to workplaces, people got behind the campaign linked to the charity Support Our Soldiers (SOS). It provides support for serving men and women and aims to give a Christmas box, filled with sweets, toiletries and small gifts as a 'thank you' from the folk back home, to all troops.

As the campaign drew to a close, The Falkirk Herald was delighted to accept two cheques on behalf of SOS.

The first came from bosses at Bunzl, a cleaning and hygiene supplies firm with a warehouse in Grangemouth. Three weeks ago we told how their former employee Ross McMillan had left to join the Royal Navy and, after a successful training stint, was serving on HMS Ark Royal.

The 21-year-old's proud parents, Barbara and Jim, who live in Bainsford, backed the Herald's Heroes' campaign. But when the story was picked up at Bunzl's London office, management decided they wanted to recognise the important role now being played by Ross and his thousands of colleagues in the Navy, Army and Airforce.

This week, Grangemouth branch manager Stuart Clelland handed over a £1000 cheque to SOS founder Agnes Hunter and Central Scotland co-ordinator Yvonne Johnston.

He said: "Ross was with us a couple of years and we were sorry to see him go. Bunzl likes to get involved in charity work and when there is a former colleague involved it makes it more significant."

The company also got in touch with Cadbury's and the chocolate giants agreed to donate 300 selection packs to the local campaign.

Later, Falkirk Herald editor Colin Hume was presented with a cheque for £500 from Provost Pat Reid on behalf of the organising committee of the recent Festival of Remembrance which took place in Falkirk Town Hall.

The district's First Citizen said money raised each year was donated to a local charity and in 2008 there seemed no more fitting benefactor than one which would provide a little Christmas cheer to troops currently serving around the globe, including trouble spots in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Accepting the cheque, Colin Hume said: "We're delighted to accept these cash gifts on behalf of Support Our Soldiers, as well the many, many donations that have already been received. When we launched this campaign we were confident our readers would respond generously, but we never quite imagined how much it would capture the public's imagination. It just goes to show that people throughout Falkirk and the whole country really appreciate the efforts of our Armed Forces."
The Christmas box donations are now being packed up by people like local co-ordinator Yvonne (42) and an army of volunteers.

In recent weeks the Bainsford home she shares with parents Elizabeth (61) and Harry (64) has been transformed into an Aladdin's cave full of gifts for the troops. And when she's not at her full-time job at Carron Phoenix, where she's had lots of support from colleagues, she's sorting and packing boxes.

Yvonne said: "The response has been overwhelming. It started as a trickle of bags and ended as a deluge."