In 1991, having come back from the Gulf War, I was stationed
in Germany on a RAF Regiment light armoured squadron.  I served at the same station as many of the pilots that were tragically killed in the air battle; as a treat my squadron took their tanks to the families of the pilots that died and the kids were allowed to have joyrides and climbed all over the tanks.  A small thing but it gave enjoyment and a short respite from the harsh reality that dad wasn’t coming home. That stuck with me.

The death of a parent can be terrible for an adult however for a child it’s even more traumatic. Imagine being a child and being denied the warmth of a hug of a loving mum or dad or having your idol and role model taken out of your life forever and then having to deal with a whole range of emotions that a lot of people struggle with even with several years of emotional maturity.  Children have undeveloped emotions and it’s difficult for kids to understand how to handle these feelings. This is a harsh reality for too many of our service children who have lost a parent serving in the UK’s Armed Forces, especially given recent conflicts.

I was introduced by the wonderful and inspiration Scotty’s Little Soldiers by Laura. Her late husband Nick was a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force.  By all accounts less Top Gun Maverick but more family man and a brilliant husband and father with a cracking sense of humour and mischief.  The children, Tanith and Ewan  were robbed of their father in September 2014 by cancer and it was after this that Laura turned to Scotty’s Little Soldiers. 

Nikki Scott set up the charity, Scotty’s Little Soldiers in honour of her husband Corporal Lee Scott.  It’s dedicated to supporting the bereaved children of our military personnel. The charity supports them in three different ways; 

•             through enabling the children to smile from various activities, 

•             by supporting the emotional needs of the children 

•             by helping the children’s personal development through activities and educational grants. 

Even though the major conflicts have ended, many of the children affected by bereavement are still feeling the benefits of the charity.

Having lost over 4 stone in 2018, Jon joined the Saints Foundation Big Bike Ride as a way of thanking them for their motivation in getting fit.  On the ride, he met Mark, a British Cycling Ride Leader. It was during one of our training rides for the Saints Foundation Big Bike Ride that we were discussing the work that Scotty’s did for military kids that we came up with the idea of cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats (LeJOG) in September 2019.  And that’s why we’re here.

Rather than spending thousands towards an organised ride where much of the cash goes to the business running it, we’ve decided to do this unsupported over 9-10 days to ensure that Scotty’s benefit as much as possible. 

Our aim is to raise £5000 through various methods such as the bike ride, quiz nights, cakes sales and collections. 

So pledge your support and let us know how you can help us!

Contact: lejog@nottherealjon.blog