Midsomer murder assists soldier’s memorial

A memorial trust established in honour of a soldier killed in Afghanistan has benefited from an episode of the police drama Midsomer Murders, after an episode of the forthcoming series was filmed at the retirement home where his grandmother lives.

An ITV film crew spent a day filming at Thamesfield Retirement Village to use its landscaped gardens and main entrance as locations in an episode of the drama series. The Victorian country house on the banks of the river in Henley-on-Thames was chosen to double as a riverside nursing home.

The flat owned by Dawn Turner was also used in the filming as a crime scene.

Now Retirement Villages Ltd, the company that owns Thamesfield, has donated the fee it received from the television company to the memorial trust established in memory of Turner’s grandson.

Lieutenant Dougie Dalzell was killed earlier this year on his 27th birthday while serving with the Coldstream Guards in Afghanistan. His family established the Dougie Dalzell Memorial Trust to support injured soldiers from the regiment.

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 television shows among residents of the retirement village.

“We understand the episode featuring Thamesfield is going to be screened next year,” said Price. “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 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.