One of the men in this photo could have been my Dad. It's hard to imagine. The surge of adrenaline & absolute terror as he led his platoon down the ramp into the waves on Gold beach. He was 20 years old. He had never been in combat before. It's even harder to imagine our oldest son, Oscar (now 20) going through something like that today.... 

D-day defined a generation as well as changing the course of the war. As kids, we grew up hearing my Dad's stories of his Normandy campaign - always carefully edited to be funny...leaving out the real horror of it all, no doubt. 

His favourite anecdote was how, having got his platoon safely on the beach, he led his men up and over the sand dunes, driving a half track vehicle at the front of the line. Suddenly around the corner came another British army vehicle, travelling at speed, straight towards him. There was no path or road in sight but that didn't stop the other officer yelling at him: "You idiot! Don't you know that in f***ing France, you drive on the f***ing right hand side!"

Sadly my Dad is no longer around to wish me luck as we set out next week to cycle 225m past all the D-Day beaches & Pegasus Bridge. I would love to have asked him a million questions. But by seeing where he actually fought, I'll come that bit closer to trying to imagine what he went through. And hopefully we'll stick to the right hand side!  

I'm raising money for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, which has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. 

Luckily for my Dad he never needed SSAFA's support - but there are plenty of service men and women who do (in 2017, the charity helped over 73,227 people, from Second World War veterans to young men and women who have served in more recent conflicts.) 

SSAFA's support covers: mental health, disability, welfare and housing, as well as supporting the transition process from the armed forces into civilian life. The charity supports both active and veteran service men and women, as well as their families. 

Please help me raise funds for this vital service - thanks in advance for your support.