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On 18th August 2014 I was fortunate enough to be part of a team of ex Servicemen and women 'mates' and friends who departed London to cycle to Mons in Belgium in time to commemorate the first shots fired by British forces in the early morning of 22 August 1914. Successfully achieved, relatively incident free, £12,500 raised for the Royal British Legion (RBL) and no doubt buoyed by a moderate amount of alcohol we all agreed it would be a fine thing to complete 'the journey' with a return trip 4 years later to commemorate the last shots fired. 

Some of you will already be aware of what the RBL does. For others, this may be the first time you have come across it other than buying a poppy every year around November time. Simply put, the The Royal British Legion, sometimes called The British Legion or The Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Its objectives are written in its Royal Charter but in short its sets out to look after serving and ex-servicemen, women and their dependants who are in need, financially or otherwise for whatever reason. With your help we will be doing our little bit to support these essential services provided by the RBL everyday of the year. If you want to know more about the RBL, here's a link:

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/

Meanwhile, for those of us about to have our asses welded to our bicycle seats, that time is now fast approaching and planning is underway. Twelve of the original 14 are back in training, hunting down the lycra and pain killers that got them through the week 4 years ago.
The plan is to depart Saturday 10th November and drive to Mons. Sunday 11th November we will attend a Service in Mons to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the Great War. Monday 12 November we plan to ride to Ypres taking in as many War Grave Commission sites as we can. Tuesday 13th November, we depart Ypres for the Channel and overnight in Folkestone. Wednesday 14th November, Folkestone to the Royal Military School of Engineering, my alma mata in Chatham. Thursday 15th November its Chatham to London and a small reception at Lloyds of London before dispersing for a well earned shandy or two.

And just in case you haven't heard about it yet, here's a link to Peter Jackson's film released this week (16 Oct). It is truly jaw dropping....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXMhv7E0o7c

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