My husband Martin Stuart Gillott was tragically diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in July 2020 and died on October 2nd 2020.  He was wanting to run a fund raiser himself for the Gurkha Welfare Trust, as he had run many marathons supporting them.  Sadly his illness was brutally quick and he never had a chance - he was only 55 years old. To quote Martin, he 'ran out of runway'. 

A group of friends and family have decided to cycle from Land's End to John O'Groats in memory of Martin - we will have many stories to tell whilst we are on the road. He was a larger than life character, always had an opinion, sometimes controversial, never dull.  His debates at the dinner table were legendary. 

Martin spent six years as an officer in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers and absolutely loved his time serving in Nepal, Brunei and Hong Kong. During those years he was never happier than using his engineering skills to build schools, bridges and water projects and generally improve the quality of life in some very remote villages.  He always said that just getting clean water into a village was totally life changing for the community, and after the horrific earthquake in 2015 there is so much infrastructure to re-build.  

We have identified a specific school project in Nepal, which we plan to use funds to complete, as it is so far only half built.  The remaining funds needed are around £150,000 so we are setting a substantial target to make Martin's legacy count and have a tangible memorial for him. Here is some more detail on the project:  https://www.gwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Martin-Gillott-School-Proposal-V2.pdf

We have just received an amazing offer of matched funding from a family Trust known to Martin, which means that for every £1 contributed by our supporters, the trust will add an additional pound towards our team target.  

Thank you so much for your support - the Gurkha Welfare Trust was Martin's chosen charity every time he ran a marathon, and he would be immensely proud of us taking on this epic cycle challenge in his name. 

Much love to all,

Miranda 

miranda.gillott@gmail.com

07881 914789