Airborne medics paid tribute to their Second World War origins as they took on a tough charity challenge.
Across 24 hours between Thursday, January 10 and Friday, January 11, 24 troops from Colchester’s 19 Medical Squadron, 16 Medical Regiment set out to cycle 435 miles on an exercise bike at Colchester’s Merville Barracks, equivalent to the distance from the D-Day beaches in Normandy to the John Frost Bridge in Arnhem.
With the 75th anniversary of D-Day and Operation Market Garden being marked in 2019, the troops took on the challenge to raise money for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. The troops went the extra miles to cover a total of 517 miles in 24 hours to raise £741.15.
Organiser Private Keith Ross said: “It’s been a great event that’s tested everyone who took part physically, built up our team spirit, paid tribute to the history of airborne forces and raised money for a charity that works hard to support soldiers.
“Each of us needed to cover 18 miles in an hour to cover the distance, but everyone was really motivated and so we went that much further.”
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