I am taking part in The Forces March for a few different reasons. In 2010, after several years of not having overly exerted myself physically, I took part in the Power Walking class of the Athens Classic Marathon, which celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the battle of Marathon. I enjoyed it so much that I became somewhat addicted, and have now finished three marathons since my 80th birthday. I have improved my finishing time on each occasion but now realize that I am unlikely to go significantly faster yet feel confident that I can go a lot further. So I needed a new challenge. It was then that I discovered the Forces March which appealed to me, having served as an infantry subaltern for my National Service prior to university and remembering the long route marches that we had to do during our training. The Forces March commemorates a feat that the men of the Airborne Division did as part of their training prior to being the first allied unit to set foot in Normandy on D Day. Several of my close family members were killed or wounded in the two world wars and I considered the Veterans Charity to be a very worthy cause, one that gives support to our veterans who urgently need it.

Another reason is that having been practicing medicine in the British Virgin Islands for the past 47 years, I am appalled at the deterioration in the general health of the island population over that period due to drastic changes in lifestyle with regard to diet and exercise. Obesity, diabetes and cardiac problems and cancer have increased enormously, and I will be publicising my efforts in the hope that I will be able to influence many of the population to become more active physically and not give up just because they are no longer young.

Finally, I am dedicating my efforts to my Scottish grandfather, James Erskine, himself a keen athlete and at one time holder of the Scottish half mile record. He later became president of the Scottish AAA, and came to live with my family when I was a young teenager when he greatly influenced my various athletic endeavours at that time.

I am pleased that all four of my sons and hopefully one grandchild plus other family members and friends will make up our Tattersall/BVI team. I am taking my training very seriously and have great hopes of being able to complete the whole course.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Your support and donations will be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you