Army veterans were given a send-off by a D-Day survivor when they walked 20 miles across Derbyshire to remember our military heroes and raise money for the Royal British Legion.
The walking party, which include three former soldiers, undertook the journey from Crich to Mickleover last Saturday, ahead of Armed Forces Day, which takes place this weekend.
The walk took them from Crich Stand, which was erected in 1923 to remember the 11,409 members of the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Regiment who died in the First World War to the Mickleover Royal British Legion branch in Western Road.
Present at the Stand was Lt Col David Dawber, representing the Mercian Regiment, which is the successor to the Sherwood Foresters, and John Blood, who was serving with the Lincolnshire Regiment when he took part in the D-Day landings 80 years ago.
John is now 101 years old and he laid a wreath at the Stand, following a blessing from the RBL chaplain, the Reverend Canon Peter Walley.
Among the walkers was Bruce Spencer, who served with the Sherwood Foresters as part of a 38-year career in the army, which saw him serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia as well as military attache in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Alongside him was Simon Briggs, a former Army Royal Signals soldier, and Simon McCarthy, a former Royal Marine who saw service in Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands.
The remaining two people in the walking party were Eleanor Bygrave, who grew up in a military family and works for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Howard Martin, who is a member of the RBL and another walker, Enid Buckley.
It took them eight hours to complete the walk and they were greeted by around 80 RBL members and members of the community when they arrived in Mickleover, complete with a fanfare from a Royal Marines bugler.
There was then a short ceremony, which included a speech from the French consul for the Midlands, Jean-Claude Lafontaine, who paid tribute to John’s bravery and the sacrifices paid by his extraordinary generation.
The walk was organised by Bruce, who is president of the Mickleover RFBL and head of strategy for Swadlincote-based rail depot maintenance firm MTMS, whose group chairman, Malcolm Prentice, handed over a cheque for £1,000.
Bruce said: “It was a very warm day to walk such a long distance but the welcome we received at journey’s end – plus the pint of beer – made everything worthwhile.
“We’re grateful for everyone who supported us from Derbyshire and beyond as well as for the generous and kind donation from Malcolm and MTMS.
“John is a living representative of a generation who stepped up to do their duty and in very many cases gave up their lives to win the freedoms we all take for granted.
“As we look forward to Armed Forces Day this Saturday, this walk was a timely reminder of the debt we owe to our military heroes both today and in the conflicts of the past.”
