Edition 61
As a valued supporter, we are pleased to bring you up-to-speed with a weekly round-up of activities from RMA – The Royal Marines Charity and the wider Corps Family.
This week, we bring you news of four extra-ordinary fundraisers whose fearless ambition and determination knows no bounds, including a terrifying story of a dramatic encounter with armed pirates; long distance running with added twists: and we share a poignant example of the lifelong support that, with your help, the Charity offers the Corps Family.
Thank you for your continued support.
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Never mess with a Bootneck…
Our Fundraising team has been in touch with the Summit to Sea team to offer its support to former Royal Marines and adventure-junkies, John Bathgate (pictured left) and Ian Roberts who, attempting the first-ever world attempt to travel down the Amazon River from its highest source, are now home having survived a dramatic attack by pirates during which John was shot
Fundraising for three charities including RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, they nevertheless remain determined to return at some point to finish what they started.
Caroline Casey, Director of Fundraising and Communications with RMA – The Royal Marines Charity said: “Our thoughts are with John and Ian and their families as they recover from such a life-threatening ordeal.
Everyone in our team was naturally shocked to learn about the horrific incident but incredibly relieved to hear that – in true Bootneck style – their Commando training kicked in and they were able to so effectively disable and overpower the pirates, and escape with their lives.
The Charity is continually in awe of the sheer grit and determination of all of our fantastic fundraisers and of the huge variety of personal challenges that they choose to undertake in support of the Corps Family.
John and Ian have done magnificently well to have gone so far already against incredible odds and, even if they don’t return as now planned to finish the challenge they started, we are all incredibly proud of what they’ve already achieved.”
The former RM Commandos, ‘with green lids and green minds’, together with an eight-strong team, have been tracking the Amazon River from glacier to sea – from its highest point at the Volcán Chimborazo (20,548ft) along its 5,128km to the Atlantic Ocean through diverse and challenging wilderness.
One down, just two to go!
We are so incredibly proud of Ben Clough – a super-fit Royal Marines Physical Training Instructor at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Devon – who is now well on track on Day 4 of his National Three Peaks challenge. He has given this gruelling challenge an extra endurance ‘twist’ by running the entire 482-mile distance between start and finish from Scotland to Wales, all within 10 days!
He’s now close to crossing the Scotland/England border at Gretna Green and, having already ticked off Ben Nevis on Day 1 (pictured above) is well past the halfway point. Ben reaches Dalston (Carlisle) this evening after his fourth day of running a 50-55 mile ‘Ultra-marathon’., often supported along the way by friends and colleagues.
He will continue his run tomorrow and climb Scafell Pike, before heading down to arrive and climb Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) on Monday 21st August via Ambleside, Garstang, Frodsham and Ruthin Park. You can live-track Ben’s daily progress here.
Ben is fundraising for two charities close to his heart, including RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, the tally to date already approaching £8,000.
We can’t thank him enough – awesomely brilliant.
Breakdown man needs to be left alone
RAC patrolman Lee Wingate from Portsmouth is making final preparations to be the first to run unsupported from John O’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE), creating a new world record for this famous route’s toughest category.
Lee takes to the road on 1st September to run the 860 miles or so completely unaided over 18-21 days, raising funds for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity in memory of his grandfather who was a Royal Marines Commando.
To qualify as being 100 per cent unsupported, Lee cannot accept any help whatsoever. The rules state he must remain entirely alone from beginning to end, relying on his own resources and carrying everything he needs with him in a custom-built ‘pram’. This includes all food, drink and equipment (as shopping, too, is off-limits); he will have to wild camp and, in an added challenge, will need to collect all his water from natural resources such as rivers and streams.
He already holds two world records for other unsupported runs and his many months of preparation for the ‘big one’ have included several shorter runs that provided ‘real-world’ tests and resulted in Lee making modifications to his self-made pram.
Heading abroad?
Don’t forget to register for the new RMA – The Royal Marines Charity debit card, powered by Currensea and Mastercard before you go overseas.
Automatically get the best exchange rates in 180 currencies on your next holiday, whilst also supporting RMA – The Royal Marines Charity. You can avoid at least 85% of your bank’s fees when spending abroad.
New card, same account:
No new bank account, link with an existing current account
Remove bank fees while travelling abroad, save at least 85% on every transaction
Donate to RMA – The Royal Marines Charity by rounding-up your UK spend and donating your travel savings.
If you would prefer an unbranded card, please sign-up for a standard card at https://www.currensea.com/ and email help@currensea.com to link your card to the charity.
Royal Marines train Ukrainians in the art of commando raiding
Royal Marines have spent more than six months training nearly 1,000 Ukrainian counterparts in the art of commando raiding and complex amphibious operations.
Specialist instructors from across the UK Commando Force passed on invaluable expertise and knowledge in how to plan and carry out raids using small boats by day and night.
Each group under training underwent a rigorous five-week programme, developing individual skills including living/survival in the field, battlefield first aid, close quarters combat, and fitness, and unit planning in realistic scenarios. The training will further support Ukraine’s capability to develop its own marine force and an international training concept for marines.