Walking With The Wounded and South Shields Marine School Charity Event.
A charity boat race on the River Tyne for veterans and their families took place at the weekend.
Walking With The Wounded (WWTWNE) and South Shields Marine School held the charity boat race with Northumberland broadband business Alncom who have undertaken a year of charity events to support the charity. Racing rigid inflatables, the teams were closely matched as they sped along the Tyne, from South Shields to the Quayside in Newcastle, with the team from WETWNE taking the win on the day.
The charity day, with veterans from the RAF, Army and Navy taking part, included a physically challenging sea survival training session in the Environmental Pool, recreating the most challenging emergency at sea that seafarers hope will never happen. Throughout the sea survival session at the school, the team were exposed to waves, thunder, lightning and pitch black darkness while attempting to navigate themselves into a life raft.
Ex and current forces personnel from the RAF, Royal Navy and British Army attended; including Heather Perkins, a former Chinook engineer in the RAF, who now works with Walking With The Wounded in the North East, Gary Whealans, currently serving in The Scotsguards, Lawrie Stevenson, a British Army veteran, now Head of Operations for AltNet and broadband specialist Alncom, who are based in Northumberland, Gareth Carter, Director of Alncom and the sea survival team from The South Shields Marine School. Head of School Michael Speers led the day with rhib drivers Gareth Wynn and Peter Loft. Both lecturers and highly experienced marine safety lecturers at the school. Gareth Wynn served 22 years in the Royal Navy and fellow rhib driver Peter Loft an engineer in the shipping industry.
Lawrie Stevenson, Operations Director for Alncom and British Army veteran said: “I served in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers for over 5 years, as a Platoon Machine Gunner and as a qualified Combat Medic, so today is for a charity that is very close to my heart.”
“I was deployed on combat operations in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones, including two operational tours of Afghanistan. The second tour in Helmand was the notorious 2009 ‘Summer of Blood’ tour where we lost over 100 personnel, including 7 Fusiliers. After this, I battled PTSD for 10 years, feeling like I had sunk to the lowest lows. Although the effects will never leave me, I managed to draw on my strong character to cope, but it’s something that never fully leaves you and one you certainly don’t forget. The turning point for me, came from when started work in telecoms and Alncom. They gave me a strong support system around me and their understanding has aided my recovery.”
WWTW and the team collected donations on the day, with Alncom already raising over £2000 at a charity football match and family fun day at Alnwick Town FC with MKM and support from businesses around the region.
Heather Perkins of Walking With The Wounded NE said; “As a veteran myself, I am always overwhelmed by the level of support that comes from everyone and especially the NE. Experiencing first-hand the support that WWTW provides, I can say with confidence that the support that is provided, from events like today, really makes a vital and often life-changing difference, to the lives of those who have served and their families.”
Lawrie Stevenson & Gareth Carter’s next challenge is to hike the National 3 Peaks in 24 hours on August 26th.