Local fund raiser Paul Wickes’ latest charity ambition will hopefully see him achieve the London Classics Iron Man medal by completing a 2-mile swim on Lake Serpentine, at Hyde Park in London on 16th September. Paul will be raising funds for Falmouth RNLI.

Paul has set a target of raising £1,000 by taking part in the Serpentine Swim 2023 which if he reaches his target will mean that he will have raised £10k in support of the Life Saving work of the Falmouth Lifeboat’s and their volunteer crews.

Paul, well known locally as a former leader of Falmouth Marine Band explained: “with my endurance buddy, Fred Thomas, better known as Dame Betty Stogs we have completed the first two legs of the London Classics by running the London marathon, and at the end of May this year we completed the Ride 100 Bike ride in London. The 2-mile swim is the final challenge for the Iron Man medal and although I have been successful to win a place at the event through the ballot, Betty wasn’t so lucky so I will be on my own, apart from several thousand other swimmers!”

“For me this will be my toughest challenge as I am not a good swimmer and will be relying on breaststroke which means I will need most of the 2 hours 50 minutes time allocated for the endurance swim. However, it isn’t about the time, it is about the cause and once again I will be raising funds for the RNLI.”

Paul is no stranger to fund raising and endurance events. Paul and his wife Pauline organised Falmouth Carnival for 13 years whilst also leading the famous Falmouth Marine Band marches and street collections during this period.

In 2019, Paul, Fred and two of Fred’s friends, Viv and Simon, ran the London marathon raising £55k. Paul and Fred trained for 9 months helped by Paul’s eldest son Dave.

In 2020 and 2021 in between Covid lockdowns the same four friends rowed a ‘socially distanced’ raft 10 miles from the top of the River at Truro into Falmouth carrying a barrel of Skinners beer each time with the same name as Betty. The two events raised £8k and they proved fundraising was still possible despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Also in 2021, Paul, his younger son Rob, and Fred cycled from Bristol to St Austell with 100 riders, completing a total of 215 miles over three days, climbing a total of 16,000 feet which is the equivalent of half the height of Mount Everest! The group raised £240k for Childrens Hospice South West. Fred and Rob rode the event again in 2022, raising a further £180k, but Paul missed this ride and instead volunteered as a marshal because Covid gave him three dangerous blood clots in his leg, which eventually required surgery and Paul only received the all-clear in February this year. Just 3 months later Paul completed the Ride 100 event.

In 2017 Paul helped form a committee with his friend Mark Killingback which raised £135k to support the 150 year anniversary of Falmouth Lifeboat Station, and together with the London marathon and other local fundraising collections, Paul is close to raising £150k for the RNLI, and nearly £330k in total in the last 30 years in Falmouth.

The final words go to Paul: “I am a great believer that in our lives we are defined by what we can do for others, however big or small. The motivation that we have to spend several months training and preparing for the endurance events is because we know we can help amazing causes like the RNLI and CHSW to keep looking after others. This is what local community is all about”