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We are a local group of friends who will be riding vintage bicycles worth £25 or less from The Pink Pub in Bognor Regis to Pegasus Bridge in Normandy, France from the 3rd - 6th June 2019 dressed in Home Guard outfits (think of Dads Army). We will be arriving on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day to commemorate and show our respect to of all those men and women who bravely risked or laid down their lives in service to our country to give us our freedom. We will not forget them.
The ride is in aid of two fantastic causes:
All Call Signs (ACS) - These guys are a relatively new entity established in 2018 after the tragic loss of a dear friend and hero Danny Johnston. Danny was an experienced soldier, serving his country for many years as part of The Tigers - the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment (PWRR). He had a distinguished career which saw him serve as part of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), a special forces unit assisting the SAS and SBS providing critical intelligence behind enemy lines. Unfortunately Danny lost his life as a result of not receiving the support he needed.
All Call Signs was formed to stop tragedies like this happening. It is a peer-to-peer chat service giving those who feel they need to communicate and discuss personal issues someone to talk to. Those who volunteer and provide support are all ex-servicemen and women who genuinely care about the wellbeing of their fellow comrades. They truly understand the real stresses and struggles military personnel and veterans may be going through and will LISTEN!
The goal of All Call Signs is to use technology and the power of the community to improve the lives of service personnel and veterans. The charity hopes to reduce the number of self-harm incidents and suicides in the military community and create a happier, healthier life for individuals suffering with mental health issues like PTSD, depression and anxiety.
Lets do all we can to save those real heroes who really need support after what they have been through!
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Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (LNADJ) - A recognised charity founded in January 2010, creating fundraising events and initiatives for the electronic music industry and beyond to raise money and support children in crisis around the world.
In order to support mental health and specifically PTSD, LNADJ will be assisting us to raise money for this much needed cause. 90% of all money raised will be forwarded to All Call Signs as a charitable grant to assist them in growing their incredible mission of saving lives.
10% of the funds raised will be used by LNADJ to support their charity and to create wells in Africa in memory of Danny, we believe this is a fantastic partnership and all of the support we have received so far is truly heart touching.
In order to raise money we will be offering bike sponsorships for businesses. The cost to have your company logo printed on the side of a bike and a public thank you on our Facebook and Instagram pages will cost a minimum of £250 - of course, you can donate more if you wish. Please get in touch with us if you would like to sponsor a bike and we will give you more details.
Alternatively, if you would like to donate as an individual you are in the right place: you can donate directly via this Just Giving page. Every little helps and 100% of your donation will be going to directly to those in need.
We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any support. Every donation makes a huge difference in helping the brave people who served their country and risked their lives for us.
As a group, we have successfully completed a number of charity rides with great success, raising over £150,000 for good causes and helping to change lives. This cause means a lot to all of us personally and we will do all we can to support All Call Signs and our military (serving and veterans).
Those riding are:
Alastair Smyth, Jack Keywood, Mark Ward, Oli Hicklin, Allen Porter, Ben Long, Chris Barlow, Dan French, Gary Pugh, Jason Smith, Jez Brooks, Paul Sherwood, Richard Scopes, Ryan Mercado, Brad Knowles, Scott Barlow, Pat Cullen, Wal Watts, Chay Curtis, Sam Summer, Christian Brian, Jamie Huband, Jon Keen, Dan Arnold and Stephen James.
Our beloved logistics team and superstar PA who support us on our ride amongst other things:
Colin Hicklin, Damian Lindley and Kerry McLaren-Clark.
Our fantastic drone operator / camera man who captures so much of the action and turns our ride into awesome videos for you to enjoy:
Mark Boyt
Finally a special thanks goes out to Jan Cattermole, who owns and runs The Royal Oak , known locally as The Pink Pub. The pub is our base and Jan provides so much support in everything we do!
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