Dan and I are running both the Bournemouth Half Marathon and the Great South Run within 3 weeks to help raise funds for the Benny Boy Crutchley fund & help support our colleague reach his goal of raising £1 Million pounds for CLIC Sargent in Ben's honour.

This is a massive deal for me with worn out knees so Dan is helping the aged get round so sponsorship will certainly spur us on and definately help this brilliant cause! Please read the full story below and anything you can spare will really help. WE HAVE GONE HIGH TEC TOO YOU CAN TEXT YOUR DONATION USING 70071 AND IN THE MESSAGE TYPE TSDP99 £ADD THE AMOUNT - PRESS SEND!!!

We read about Nigel's inspiring story (Below) and we want to do everything in our power to help support.

On 23rd February 2012, RBS’ Nigel Crutchley lost his nine-year-old son Ben to brain cancer. Out of profound tragedy, Nigel, his family and his colleagues are on a mission to raise £1 million for cancer charity CLIC Sargent in Ben’s memory. This is the story of Ben, his family and their tremendous courage in the face of the unthinkable.

“It felt like life was being ripped away from us,” says Nigel. He’s recalling the moment he first learned of Ben’s diagnosis, sat in the family room at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

“I remember it vividly. Our neurosurgeon walked in in his blue shirt and his tortoiseshell glasses, pencils sticking out of his pocket. I even remember his shoelace was undone.  

“He sat down and told me the news that Ben had a malignant brain tumour. It was dispersed across the left-hand side of his brain, and therefore totally inoperable.”

A series of seizures in the days before had prompted Nigel and his wife Su to check Ben into hospital for tests. Now they found themselves facing a nightmare that no parent should ever have to.

“I can remember feeling a whole mixture of emotions at that point. Anger, ‘why us?’, ‘this is not fair’. The parent’s job is to protect your children first and foremost, and it felt like the whole ability to do that was taken away from us in a second.”

The doctors couldn’t say how much time Ben had left. Together, his family decided to make every day count. Ben deserved something really special, and Nigel pulled out all the stops to make his last months as magical as possible.

“I said to Benny, “If you had three wishes, what would they be?”

“So he said, “I’d like to meet JLS. And Take That too.”

“I said, “Oh, of course, I suppose you’d like to fly a plane and drive a rally car as well? And for Louis from One Direction to give you a call at home?”

He said, “Yeah, that would be great Dad, I’d love that!”

Over the next few weeks, Nigel made all of these requests and more happen for Ben and his brother, Luke.

“During all this time, RBS were fabulous to us – they allowed me to spend the time with my boys,” he says.

It was also at this time that the family’s very special relationship with CLIC Sargent took root. The charity provides clinical, practical, financial and emotional support for children who have been diagnosed with cancer.  

“Whilst we were looking after the kids, CLIC Sargent were looking after us,” explains Nigel.

Thanks to the charity’s support, much of Ben’s treatment could be administered at home, where he felt most comfortable and safe.

Two CLIC Sargent nurses, Sally and Ally, became a vital part of the Crutchley family’s life.

“They had a sixth and seventh sense, empathy, presence – they were brilliant,” says Nigel. “Every time they walked into the room, Ben’s face lit up.”

As well as medical care, Sally and Ally also provided valuable emotional support for the family and their extended network. For example, they spent time with both Ben’s and Luke’s classmates to help them understand what was happening. They also discussed the best support RBS could give with Nigel’s boss.

“They continue to be by our side,” Nigel confirms.

Ben passed away in Nigel and Su’s arms, at home and listening to his favourite music.

For the Crutchley family, coping with Ben’s death has required incredible reserves of strength. However, it has also opened up a new perspective on the preciousness of every moment.

“It really reinforced in me the fact that you should focus on what you want rather than what you don’t want,” Nigel explains.

It’s this mentality that has spurred him on to raise £124,000 so far for CLIC Sargent through a series of extraordinary fundraisers. The eventual goal is to raise an incredible £1 million for the charity. 

As of July 2013, he has climbed Kilimanjaro, run the Bath half-marathon and completed a Paris-London bike ride with friends and workmates.  

The bike ride saw 12 RBS colleagues complete a 280 mile journey over four days as part of the Group’s One Week In June initiative. In addition, colleagues also swam the length of the English Channel (21 miles) in a local London swimming pool to raise funds. Altogether, both activities raised £24,000.

Later this year Nigel will square up to further challenges when he takes part in an attempt to break the world record for the number of tandem skydives done in 24 hours, as well as further half-marathons and cycling trips.

“It would have been all too easy for us to bemoan our lot rather than taking the opportunity to celebrate every day we had left with Ben,” he concludes.

“It’s about making every second count, and doing the best thing for Ben, Luke and the whole family.”