Mathew Bailie
Supporting our Paras and their families
Fundraising for SUPPORT OUR PARAS
Story
Mat Bailie: WARRIOR FITNESS
I started my fundraising journey when my nephew died, aged nine months, from cot death. It was obviously an awful time for our family. Nobody wants their children to die before them and I saw first-hand, what a death of a child can do to a person, to a family. I realise that charities like the Lullaby Trust tried their very best to help ease the situation where possible. I decided that this was important to my family; and to me and I completed the following events raising money for the charity that meant so much to so many people.
❖ TOUGH MUDDER
❖ TOUGH GUY
❖ SUPER SPARTAN RACE
❖ SUPER SPARTAN RACE
❖ X-RUNNER
❖ ROW THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
After igniting my fire for fundraising, at the point of realising what I was doing was making actual differences to people I set up a charity fun run. It was a mammoth task. It would involve getting willing participants, getting permissions from councils, publicising and chasing participants, setting out the course and ensuring all health and safety requirements were met. But we did it! All our hard work had paid off and we raised £800 for a local nursery for children with special need. PETER PAN DAY NURSERY. This was an amazing result and I couldn’t have been happier; this was not going to be the end of the journey for me. It was the start of something important to me; and my journey continues.
My grandad served in The Parachute Regiment 6TH Battalion and was my inspiration for my next challenge. He was a completely amazing man and worked hard for both his family and country. He was part of the peace keeping force in Palestine. Having originally been part of the signals in the mid-forties; sending, receiving and intercepting messages and feeding them to the necessary departments. He put his life on the line for his country and was completely selfless in his actions. He was such a compassionate man. I asked my dad for his memories of him. I received the following words back.
‘I remember dad studied German at Stoke on Trent College in the mid 1980’s and was awarded an A-Level in the German Language. In 1990 we went to Germany on a holiday to the Rhine, we ended up in a pub. Dad spoke, in fluent German, to the locals. They were amazed when they realised he wasn’t actually German; he had them all singing Lily Marlene. He had a lot of respect for the Germans; Always said they had suffered, just like us, many loses in war too. He always gave to charity and was the most compassionate man I’ve met’
Whenever he spoke to his grandchildren, normally jokes or ‘PUNS’ he would have our FULL attention. Children in complete awe of a man they were so proud of. My grandad, sadly, has now passed. However, I am hoping, I can help add to his legacy by raising as much funds as possible for SUPPORT OUR PARAS (The Parachute Regiment Charity No:1131977) to help other families like my own.
So, in his memory, I will be putting myself to the test. I have completed Tough Guy this year and am currently planning the next Woodland Warrior to raise funds for my Grandad’s chosen charity. I want to hit the £10,000 mark. Below are some challenges I’ve dedicated myself too to help raise my target!
❖ CYCLE RIDE FROM STOKE TO GLOCESTER 250 MILES
❖ TYRE FLIP UP MOUNT SNOWDON WINTER 2017
❖ WOODLAND WARRIOR SUMMER 2017
And then we will see where my journey takes me next! Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I started my fundraising journey when my nephew died, aged nine months, from cot death. It was obviously an awful time for our family. Nobody wants their children to die before them and I saw first-hand, what a death of a child can do to a person, to a family. I realise that charities like the Lullaby Trust tried their very best to help ease the situation where possible. I decided that this was important to my family; and to me and I completed the following events raising money for the charity that meant so much to so many people.
❖ TOUGH MUDDER
❖ TOUGH GUY
❖ SUPER SPARTAN RACE
❖ SUPER SPARTAN RACE
❖ X-RUNNER
❖ ROW THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
After igniting my fire for fundraising, at the point of realising what I was doing was making actual differences to people I set up a charity fun run. It was a mammoth task. It would involve getting willing participants, getting permissions from councils, publicising and chasing participants, setting out the course and ensuring all health and safety requirements were met. But we did it! All our hard work had paid off and we raised £800 for a local nursery for children with special need. PETER PAN DAY NURSERY. This was an amazing result and I couldn’t have been happier; this was not going to be the end of the journey for me. It was the start of something important to me; and my journey continues.
My grandad served in The Parachute Regiment 6TH Battalion and was my inspiration for my next challenge. He was a completely amazing man and worked hard for both his family and country. He was part of the peace keeping force in Palestine. Having originally been part of the signals in the mid-forties; sending, receiving and intercepting messages and feeding them to the necessary departments. He put his life on the line for his country and was completely selfless in his actions. He was such a compassionate man. I asked my dad for his memories of him. I received the following words back.
‘I remember dad studied German at Stoke on Trent College in the mid 1980’s and was awarded an A-Level in the German Language. In 1990 we went to Germany on a holiday to the Rhine, we ended up in a pub. Dad spoke, in fluent German, to the locals. They were amazed when they realised he wasn’t actually German; he had them all singing Lily Marlene. He had a lot of respect for the Germans; Always said they had suffered, just like us, many loses in war too. He always gave to charity and was the most compassionate man I’ve met’
Whenever he spoke to his grandchildren, normally jokes or ‘PUNS’ he would have our FULL attention. Children in complete awe of a man they were so proud of. My grandad, sadly, has now passed. However, I am hoping, I can help add to his legacy by raising as much funds as possible for SUPPORT OUR PARAS (The Parachute Regiment Charity No:1131977) to help other families like my own.
So, in his memory, I will be putting myself to the test. I have completed Tough Guy this year and am currently planning the next Woodland Warrior to raise funds for my Grandad’s chosen charity. I want to hit the £10,000 mark. Below are some challenges I’ve dedicated myself too to help raise my target!
❖ CYCLE RIDE FROM STOKE TO GLOCESTER 250 MILES
❖ TYRE FLIP UP MOUNT SNOWDON WINTER 2017
❖ WOODLAND WARRIOR SUMMER 2017
And then we will see where my journey takes me next! Thanks for taking the time to read this.