Update Wednesday lunchtime:

About half way now. Just visited the memorial at Thiepval (photograph above) and paid my respects to Gt. Gt. Uncle Charles Watts who served with 15th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment.. He died on the Somme in October 1916, aged 23. 

A very moving service given by Help for Heroes at the memorial with a talk from a soldier who was very badly wounded in Afghanistan. The work Help for Heroes do for these guys is absolutely amazing. 

Please give generously! Many thanks Geoff

On the 10th June I will be setting off to France for a five-day 350-mile ride across the county to raise funds for Help for Heroes, stopping en route to visit some of the most important battlefields of the Great War – including the Somme – in its centenary year. 

I was lucky enough to complete the Big Battlefield Bike Ride in 2011 (I am the one on the right – sans barbe!) and I crossed the finish line as a non-disabled person alongside men and women who had lost limbs. The positivity and courage of those who had suffered these life-changing injures was so inspiring and Help for Heroes plays a big part in rebuilding the confidence and morale of those affected. 

Whatever your thoughts on our country’s involvement in wars – historic or more recent – I hope you will feel, as I do, that Help for Heroes is a cause worth supporting. The injured servicemen and women really do rely on the physical and emotional support this charity provides when they return home.

Any donations would be really appreciated! 

Thanks very much,
Geoff