A former soldier who ran 360 miles across England and France to support her comrades is a finalist for a national award for unsung heroes.
Mother-of-two Lizzie Rosewell, 37, from Kedington, near Haverhill, who was a captain in the Royal Artillery, served on the frontline in Iraq and lost friends in Afghanistan.
She went in the footsteps of soldiers from a different war when she decided on her running challenge - across the Western Front to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.
Her efforts saw her raise £5,200 for the Army Benevolent Fund and she has now been named as a finalist in the Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons 2018.
She has a place in the finals of the Charity Champion category, sponsored by Action On Hearing Loss, as global hearing specialist Amplifon searches for unsung heroes who represent the ‘Best of British’.
The Cambridge graduate covered a marathon a day for more than a week during Footsteps of the Fallen earlier this year, finishing at the London Marathon, where she was met by her husband Neil and children Isaac and Emma.
She did the gruelling challenge alone, carrying her 12kg backpack and camping en-route.
She said: “Running through the battlefields was very emotional and very atmospheric. Covering the area on foot, I could understand what it was like for those troops.”
She started her journey in April in Paris, first running the Paris Marathon before making her way to Amiens, then on through the battlefields including the Somme, and to the memorials at Arras and Ypres.
Lizzie, now a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, served four years in the Army and spoke of the rewarding job she and colleagues did in Iraq. “But it was very tough, the people at the time were very hostile but I was able to put all my training into practice,” she added.
It was because of her time in the forces that she wanted to give something back to help serving soldiers and veterans, which is why she chose the Army Benevolent Fund. She did not start serious running until after the birth of her children and wanted to get fit.
Lizzie will attend the ceremony at the Army and Navy Club in London on October 16, when Falklands War hero Simon Weston will present the awards.
Set up in honour of Amplifon’s founder, Second World War Hero Major Charles Holland, the awards recognise courage and achievement. Charles Holland was awarded both the MBE and the Military Cross and received the Bronze Star from the United States Government in 1948 for his bravery behind enemy lines during the Second World War.
After the war, the courageous veteran dedicated his life to providing better hearing for people affected by the conflict and in 1950 launched Amplifon.
Giuseppe Manzo, general manager for Amplifon UK & Eire, said: “We received some fantastic entries in the Charity Champion category and the four finalists truly embody the heroism shown by Charles Holland.”
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