Cpt Nicole Evans, at present in the ETS working as the 2ic of Salmond House Training Centre Germany, has given herself a really tough challenge, and the first time the Baton has been taken on this famous endeavour.  All at the Baton wish her success and a safe journey, if you see her please think about a donation in recognition of what will be a very significant effort.

Nicole has said “The ride will begin on Wednesday 18th August from Lands End and going solo unsupported, the aim is to make John of Groats on Friday 27th August using YHA accommodation alongside generous friends and B&B’s.  It is going to be by far the longest route on a bike I have taken.

I am looking forward to the trip immensely, although having decided to do it with only 3 weeks until the push off at Lands End didn’t give myself huge amounts of time.  Whilst doing the ride I shall be sporting a Help for Heroes cycling jersey, potentially raising money along the route, it will be fun to cycle in the UK again – with all the hills it has to offer – at least until the first hill is underway!

 It is fantastic to be able to be part of the journey of the Baton and I hope that I can do it justice over the next few weeks.  One thing it will do repeatedly I am sure through the journey is remind me that any hardships faced over the distance on the bike fades into the background compared to those being faced by thousands more out on Operations now or returning from them.”

Update

18th August – Nicole starting bright and Early from Lands End.

19th August – By midday on the second day, after completing 163 miles Nicole was already in Honiton and was met by Alan at the Honiton War Memorial for a quick refresh and a photo call, before continuing on her way to Bristol.  Fantastic effort Nicole!

At the end of the second day Alan had a text from Nicole to say that she had made it to Bristol with 231 miles on the clock!

21st August – Nicole was ahead of schedule and due in Preston this evening.  Nicole had a dry day which was so much more pleasant and got on the road early.  451 miles total now.

22nd August – Another lovely dry day on the road, Nicole was spurred on after meeting and chatting to a good number of people in a local pub in Preston who had relatives in or were ex military, many were really interested in the Baton.  Nicole has now passed the half way point at 1030 this am, in Penrith this evening.  530 miles now on the clock!.

25th August – Nicole at The Royal Marine’s Memorial Spean Bridge just North of Fort William Scotland still making incredible time especially considering the pannier weight – Alan knows, he’s lifted it!! 

27th August - At 07:30 and 893 miles behind her, Nicole was preparing for the final push to her goal, with 20 miles of good hill work and then the last 30 fairly flat, a blessing that the weather was still beautifully sunny.

Success! 13:30 and 942 miles completed, the first Lands End to John O’Groats for the Baton in 10 days, what a fabulous effort by Nicole and totally unsupported. All at the Baton are very proud of her effort, especially for promoting the Baton so well on such a magnificent challenge.  Fantastic Nicole!!

Bmycharity is an online fundraising site that offers charities the opportunity to recruit fundraisers and collect sponsorship.  They are unique as they do not charge charities commission on donations made via their site.

Bmycharity was set up by former Royal Marines Ben Brabyn and Matt Cooper in 2000 and was purchased by the charity Help for Heroes in March 2010.  They now have a dedicated support team whose sole responsibility is to support charities and fundraisers that use the site.   If you would like to contact them they would love to hear from you so please go here for more information.

Please look at the Expedition site to sponsor this really superb effort in aid of The Royal British Legion that is by no stretch of the imagination a walk in the park and also to learn about a most inspiring lady Nancy Wake an SOE agent and resistance fighter who helped thousands of servicemen escape across the Pyrenees to freedom.”

News Articles

BBC Stoke Radio Show 19th August, please click here

The Sun Newspaper 23rd August, please click here

Launch Photo

Suzanne and team at the Tower of London

Legendary Arthur Edwards MBE, Royal Photographer, taking photos of the launch for The Sun newspaper.

After his evening at Hasler Company Alan was truly humbled by the spirit throughout the whole unit and said that to see and talk to men adapting to their individual situations in the way they were is more inspiring than words could ever explain…..

Based in HMS DRAKE , HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth, Hasler Company was formed as a new unit by The Royal Navy and Royal Marines specifically to help aid the recovery, rehabilitation and re-integration of Marines needing focussed and individual attention.

It was officially opened on Monday 7 September 2009 by the Commander of 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, Brigadier Gordon Messenger.

Hasler Company is dedicated to the specific and complex needs of seriously injured and ill Royal Marines who require specially tailored programmes in order to provide additional bespoke support.  It is based in HMS Drake, HM Naval Base Devonport, Plymouth.

The addition of this new Royal Marine unit builds on the growing reputation of HS Drake as a centre of excellence for military therapeutic services – along with the South West Regional Rehabilitation Unit (RRU) which has been further endorsed recently by Government ministers.

HMS Drake is also home to the Khumbu Challenge 09 – a mountaineering expedition that took place in autumn 2009 for various troops recovering from war or accidents.

The new company is designed to assist the existing local recovery troops embedded within each Royal Marine Commando unit such as 40 Commando, 42 Commando and 45 Commando, by taking on the more complex and traumatic cases as they are better placed to give the dedicated and specific attention such cases demand.  Whilst not divorcing the man entirely from his previous unit, the transfer of executive responsibility to Hasler Company does allow the frontline units to maintain the necessary focus on the operations being undertaken and the demanding preparation work they require.

It also gives the casualty a new and real sense of belonging, a key person in a new bespoke company alongside like-minded people who will help and support each other, a concept that has been proven to give greater results, mentally and physically.

It will provide executive management and administration of the Royal Marines needing various specialised services provided by other organisations, such as the RRU, DMRC Headley Court and others.  The aim is to assist them on their ‘recovery pathway’ and ultimately return them to operational life or prepare them for a new and equally productive life outside the service.

The new Company has been named ‘Hasler’ in honour of Lieutenant Colonel Herbert George ‘Blondie’ Hasler DSO OBE (1914-1987), who was a distinguished Royal Marines Officer during WW2 and one of the ‘Cockleshell Heroes’.  He had led the operation (Operation Frankton) and, along with Marine Bill Sparks, was one of the two that successfully escaped and survived.  He has been chosen as he achieved great things during his time in the Corps but in addition to this, having later been invalided from the Service, he achieved other significant feats in his civilian life, notably within the world of sailing where he invented and designed pioneering steering equipment plus he instigated and undertook the first Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) from Plymouth to New York, in his yacht ‘Jester’, competing against 4 other entrants including Sir Francis Chichester in his ‘Gypsy Moth III’.

In fact he is arguably more recognised around the globe for his work within the sailing world as a civilian than his Marines career.  The intention is that Colonel Hasler will stand as a fine example to the men within Hasler Company, that while they may be worried and disheartened by the possibility of life outside the Marines, it is still possible to set new goals and, using their in-built Commando spirit and determination, achieve them very successfully.

The CHARA Challenge is taking place over Dartmoor, where teams can experience a 15 or 30 mile yomp across Dartmoor.
The Challenge is a demanding cross-country race carrying 32 pounds of weight, its purpose is to raise money for those charities that have a proven record of providing benevolence services for our wounded comrades and the dependents of the fallen.

This is an amazing challenge and would suit so many, especially Rugby teams as a final team exercise at the end of a long season – if you think your man enough? have a look at the CHARA web site.

Countess Sally Povolotsky, founder of Project Mobility said “Project Mobility proudly took the Baton to their official launch at the Land Rover Owner Show, supported by Allmakes 4×4 Ltd, where Jacobs Spanner was underway to build in 3 days for LCpl Daniel Robertson from the Coldstream Guards.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE attended the event alongside Ben Parkinson and Project Mobility volunteers and users.

The Baton was a constant reminder to all of the work our armed services are bravely undertaking in conflict zones, and was proudly passed around the group with stories and new friendships made…. Project Mobility converts Land Rovers for injured and amputees caused from IED and Conflict injuries.

2011 will see the Baton being taken to the North Pole with the Walking With The Wounded team – if ever we needed inspiration then this incredible effort, by equally incredible people is something to look at support and remember.

To Support The Walk please look at the details available here.

About Walking With The Wounded

“Today our Armed Forces are being asked to do much on our behalf and in our name.  Every day young men and women are risking their lives in extreme circumstances.  They do this with great professionalism and courage. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice, losing their lives in the course of duty, and we must never forget them. But there is another story. During the course of operations, many young men and women have suffered horrific injuries. When the wounded return home they face a very different future, with challenges they probably never imagined. Needless to say, they meet this uncertainty with the same courage and determination they demonstrated on the front line. But there’s is a long road to recovery, and for many their future outside the Armed Forces is unsure. This is when a different degree of bravery becomes apparent.

It is that future which Walking with the Wounded is going to address. The funds raised will finance new qualifications, courses, and further education for those seriously injured.  It will enable the blind, amputees, the burn victims, the mentally disabled and all the other wounded to rebuild their lives and to return to a work place.  Walking with the Wounded will also donate funds to Help for Heroes, to help them continue their important work with the rehabilitation of our wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen.
I have had firsthand experience of what these young men and women go through as my nephew was seriously wounded in Helmand in July 2009.  I have seen at firsthand how incredibly brave our wounded have to be.  Having served in The Royal Green Jackets and seen service in Northern Ireland, I am fully aware of the responsibility we owe our injured soldiers.  It is a continuous duty that we have to our wounded servicemen and women, and their rehabilitation into the workplace is vital.”

Ed Parker

DecAid is a national appeal set up with three main aims.  Firstly, to increase awareness, particularly among younger members of the UK population, of the work and involvement of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan.  Secondly, to remember those brave men and women of our Armed forces who have lost their lives serving in Afghanistan.  Thirdly, to raise over £350,000 for three service charities which work to help current and ex-servicemen and women, and their families, who have been affected by the war in Afghanistan.

To achieve this, DecAid is organising a series of six events which will be held during the summer of 2011.  These will include physical challenges such as ‘The Munro Mission’ and the ‘Ride 2 Remember’ as well as a publicity event in Edinburgh and a Memorial Service The money raised by all these events will be divided between three service charities: SSAFA Forces Help, BLESMA and Talking2Minds.

A central part of all of the events will be the involvement of wounded soldiers and families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan. The DecAid team will try, wherever possible, to involve them in the events.

The DecAid Team are all current or former members of Exeter University Officer Training Corps (EUOTC) which draws its membership from Exeter and Plymouth Universities.  They are all under the age of 25 and passionate about the cause. None of them are paid for their work and most of them have been working with DecAid whilst juggling their degrees at the same time.

The Baton is proud to be a part of these events.

In aid of a Royal Marines Charity, the C Group, the Commandos’ Tour de France is a 2,218 mile cycle ride following the exact route of the 2007 Tour de France raising support for injured Royal Marines.  The charity ‘the C Group’ dedicates itself to the rehabilitation of injured Royal Marines within familiar environments and also allowing Royal Marines to plan and adapt to the future.

The team will consist of 10 cyclists and 5 support members, from across the Royal Marines, undertaking one of the most physically demanding events in the world.  The Tour de France is equivalent of cycling from London to Cairo in 3 weeks. The team will be burning up to 10,000 calories a day, which is equal to running 2 marathons per day.

The tour will start in London in July 2010 before heading out through Kent and across the English Channel.  The route will then weave its way from Dunkirk to Southern France and the most demanding phase, the Alps.  Here the team will be subjected to hours of continuous climbing in the summer heat and thin air which will all be made worthwhile by the amazing views.  The route will then head west across Southern France into the Pyrenees passing through some of the most spectacular scenery.  The route will be brought to a spectacular end cycling through Paris and finishing on the Champs-Elysees. All this will be completed within 3 weeks.

Click here to visit the website

On Sunday 4th July Alan was invited to the Isca College of Media and Arts, Exeter to hand the Baton over to the chosen Isca team competing in the Exe Valley Challenge, 10 miles to be completed alongside the River Exe inside a given time.

The chosen team were Martha Ash, Maddie Dugdale, Oscar Petherick and Jo Chamberlain, all carried the Baton at some time throughout Sunday’s challenge and were 1st in their category of Senior Mixed. Alan had the pleasure of presenting the team with their Challenge medals.

Alan was so impressed by the facilities at Isca College, the staff and pupils in his opinion are a true beacon, up there with the best, if any school justified the vast investment that a new school demands, then Isca College proves its worth, he felt a tremendous feeling of warmth and confidence reflecting the dedicated effort of all as he was shown around.

Deputy Head David Lunn gave a 7th year assembly based on the Baton in the week prior to the weekend’s challenge, this is so much what the Baton wants to achieve, the pupils of today can identify with where the Baton comes from and all things relative at the present time, gradually past events can be brought into the frame and our youth understand the consequence of actions and decisions made by adults.

To see the Express & Echo article on the event please click here.