As you may already know, my treasured son Matt was tragically killed in action by an improvised explosive device whilst on foot patrol in on .

Matt or ‘Hatt’s’ as he was fondly know to his comrades, started his career at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate at 16, he spent the next 7 years of his life fully engrossed with army life. Matt had boundless energy and thrived on new challenges and was always the first to volunteer to learn new skills and experiences whenever the opportunity presented itself. Matt travelled widely with the Army, training in and , serving in , and finally in . Matt always strived to do his very best and pushed his boundaries to be able to fulfil his role in the Army and carry it out to the best of his ability.

The role of a soldier perfectly suited Matt’s personality and his love of the outdoors and adventure.  He had a heart of gold and had the enviable ability to make friends easy, he was always ful of fun and cheerful, even when faced with adversity, his sense of humour and mischievous smile followed him wherever he went and lifted the spirits of those around him.

We are so very proud of our brave and courageous son and wanted to take on a challenge in his honour; myself, Phil, Becky, Vicky and her partner Warren plus a few family members and close friends are pushing our boundaries and will be climbing in March 2010. All Monies raised will go to Help for Heroes, a fantastic charity that supports wounded soldiers injured in and . This charity was very close to Matt’s heart and several of his friends/comrades who have been injured will benefit from the charity’s support, we are therefore keen to raise as much money as possible.

This will be both mentally and physically challenging for each one of us. We need to raise £3,400 each for the Charity, therefore fundraising is going to be a huge challenge especially as we have only a few months to reach this target.      

If you can donate anything towards our climb it would be gratefully received. Or if you have any fundraising suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you

Jill