Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I left school and joined the Royal Marines in 1982 taking part in 2 arctic winters in Norway a tour of Northern Ireland and a year on-board HMS Endurance, spending 4 months in Antarctica. In 1987 I joined Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service and after a great career I am retiring this year, after 30 years service. I am happily married with two daughters (my wife works as a staff nurse in A&E, my eldest daughter is a student paramedic and my youngest is a combat medic based with 16 Air assault in the British Army). In 2013 I contracted cancer and after 2 difficult years I have been clear since. I have always raised funds for the fire fighters charity and benefited from charity funded rehabilitation when I was ill. During my career I have seen the devastating effects of death and trauma and the mental and physical injuries associated with such events. So with retirement looming I have decided that I would like to contribute further to a good cause. The war in Afghanistan may be over for the majority of the UK armed forces, however for some, involved in various campaigns over the years, the war continues with a daily struggle to overcome mental and physical injuries. The support given to these service personnel is invaluable and your help is needed to ensure that we can best support our people. So please donate if you possibly can and help me to 'Help our Heroes', by 'just giving' to my 2017 Big Battlefield Ride. The 350 mile cycle will be a personal challenge for me, but not as big as that faced daily by our injured personnel. Many thanks, John