Edition 93
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.
We have a packed edition this week as we head towards the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. There is plenty of inspiration for us all as we also welcome the start of British Summertime and the lengthening days (and if you are reading this in the UK and doing something special on Sunday, don’t forget to put your clocks forward on Saturday night!).
Thank you as always for your valued support.
Mind over matter
Former Royal Marines Jon White (right) and Joe Winch (left) recently delivered another iteration of RMA-The Royal Marines Charity’s Commando Mindset Training to SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) at The Institute of Directors on Pall Mall in London.
The one-day face-to-face training was delivered to 35 employees of SEFE based in London and other European locations. SEFE is active in natural gas sales and marketing, trading, exploration and production, with 40 entities globally.
Fredreric Barnaud, CCO of SEFE commented: “Thank you for such a powerful day. It was very successful and perfectly adapted to our environment. It helped foster some good conversations between our colleagues and am sure that will have a lasting effect on the mindset and resilience of our own ‘commandos’ ”.
Tom Wilson, Director of Development at RMA-The Royal Marines Charity, added: “This specialised programme remains in high demand for corporate and executive teams. Through their own personal stories, Jon and Joe are great role models for demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity.
The training focuses on practical steps to help individuals and teams build their resilience and deliver more effectively. Jon and Joe are great role models for demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity through their own personal stories, but the training also provides a practical toolkit for individuals and teams to use themselves.”
And they’re done!…
Huge thanks and many congrats to the following awesome fundraisers:
‘Civvy Commando’, Ben Felton (pictured top), who last weekend successfully scaled three Welsh mountains in 8hrs20mins. He said: “Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) was hard, -7 degrees at the top and complete white-out with 40km per hour wind which wasn’t fun; Glyder Fawr was the hardest and doing it immediately after Snowdon was a challenge – very steep with no marked paths there were some hairy moments; and coming down off the Glyders was also far harder than I anticipated being gorse, huge rock runs and hidden holes everywhere looking to catch you out and turn your ankles.
It took everything to get round. It’s not like you can quit when you’re on top of a mountain – but knowing I was doing it for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity definitely gave me the kick I needed to crack on.” BZ
Two years’ ago, Ben – an instructor with the Royal Marines Cadets – took on the RM Commando Tests and passed them with flying colours in RM qualifying times.
And to:Former serving Royal Marine and RMA Honorary Chaplain, Rev’d Justin Montague who smashed the Mountain To Coast JOGLE (John O’Groats to Land’s End) run, breaking the event record by almost 40 hours by finishing in 146hr 44m!! Absolutely superhuman in true Commando spirit, especially as he had to overcome a nasty bug on day 14. His wife, Melissa, who was running with him, endured an injury on day five, which ruled her out of the official event, but she nevertheless battled through to the finish in her own time.
They said: “It was the toughest event we have ever done and the physical and mental effort, self management and minimal recovery time all added to a whole body, mind and spirit effort.”
They have raised close to a whopping £6,000 (including Gift Aid) that will be shared between RMA – The Royal Marines Charity and Justin’s two parish charities in East Devon. You can still support them here.
Inspired…
Former Royal Marine Andrew Molyneux had a very powerful reason for choosing to put his weight behind the mental health services offered by RMA – The Royal Marines Charity when taking part in an Ultra White Colour Boxing charity fundraising event where he beat his more experienced opponent on points in a very close fight.
“People laugh at mental health but until you have it and suffer from it you will not understand. Being a Royal Marine and a man I always thought I was weak to reach out for help, I buried my emotions and trauma for years, my life has been utter chaos with drink, until one day recently I woke up. Read Andrew’s inspirational story here. Hoofin’ Royal.
Then there is Teresa Aspden who trekked 100km through the desert region around Petra, raising over £500 for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity. She also had a very special reason for doing this and raising funds for RMA – The Royals Marines Charity.
She explains: “My nephew was in the Royal Marines, did two tours of Afghanistan. I met a lot of his friends, who are more like family to him now. One of his best mates from the Royal Marines was hit by a sniper, not expected to live or talk again, both of which he can do although quadriplegic and needing ventilator at all times.
I was so impressed by the support both he and his family received during his hospital stay and afterwards and felt that if there was any little thing that I could do to put money into the coffers for the charity, it would be worth doing.” BZ.
Congrats and kudos, too, to all those who took part in the Dan Lee Mil Memorial Race in the Peak District last weekend including Kirsty Fawley who completed it in 3hours 39mins.
“Considering I’ve never done anything like this before it’s an achievement – carrying 35lb weight for 10.1 miles! I was the last woman to finish out of eight but hey, I did it! Dan was a colleague of my partner and I’m sure he would have been laughing at me.” Huge thanks to Kirsty for raising over £600 (including Gift Aid).
The Dan Lee Mil was run for the first time last year in memory of former Royal Marine and firefighter, Dan Lee, who passed away in a tragic accident in August 2022.
On the watchlist
Serving RMs Robbie Garthland (right) and Kris ‘Fozzy’ Foster (left) passed out for duty with 814 Troop in March 2002, and to mark this significant milestone and the 360th anniversary of the Royal Marines, they are going to ‘thrash’ themselves around the same famous Dartmoor 30 Miler route they completed 22 years’ ago!
Both being former Royal Marine Physical Training Instructors they have ‘upped the ante’. Along with their support team, they will include rounds of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) at each of the water stops! BJJ is a self-defence martial art and combat sport which they both share a passion for. It is based on grappling, ground fighting, and submission holds that Kris says “is a great way to escape your problems and the troubles of the world – it has been great for my physical and mental wellbeing over the years.”
Their Dartmoor 30-miler Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Challenge is to raise funds for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity and REORG.
Sign up now for 2024 Commando Training Challenge
Do you have what it takes to dig deep and be put through your paces by a Royal Marines’ PTI team?
The Royal Marines are an elite element of the UK Armed Forces and this event will give you or your team the unique opportunity to test your resolve on the Corps’ own Endurance and Assault courses at Lympstone in Devon.
The winner of this event will carry home the Commando Training Challenge Cup and all participants will receive a commemorative medal and certificate, celebrating their outstanding achievement.
Book now as the much sought-after spaces are limited.
Shopping Corner
This eye-catching baby blanket is just the ticket to keep the newest members of the Corps Family warm and cosy!
A great selection of other quality products is also available exclusively from the Royal Marines Shop that is wholly owned by RMA – The Royal Marines Charity. All profits come back to the Charity to help support the Corps Family.