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Yorkshire Remembrance Challenge


'Never forget, never again'
Give here!!!


The idea

Last November I visited the “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” installation at the Tower of London – 888,246 poppies, one for each of the British and Colonial soldiers killed in World War One. I could not take in the number – it is just too big.

I began to think about a personal way of commemorating these soldiers; perhaps, walking or cycling a yard for each one – that would be just over 500 miles. Then I talked to my middle son Luke; he thought of the fallen troops as lying down; how far would I need to go to pass by all of them? I looked up the average height of British WW1 soldiers – 5 feet 6 inches.
888246 x 5'6"/ 5280 = 925.25625
so I'd need to travel 925 and a quarter miles. That's only a little less than the 'End to End' – Land's End to John O'Groats (960 miles), a popular cycling challenge!


Progress Chart

progress graph - finished!!

The Practicalities

I can't fit in a two or three week LEJOG ride at present, but I can do a little every day, right here in Yorkshire. I don't tend to ride very much, perhaps to Leeds & back (10 miles) each week, plus occasional mountain bike rides. But if I aim at an average of 10 miles each day I should manage. I started my Yorkshire Remembrance Ride started on 1st May 2015, and should finish by 31st July – 92 days.

P.S. I finished on Sunday July 26th, completing 927.54 miles in 87 days as shown in the chart!


Never forget

We can remember the fallen of the Great War - the 'War to end all Wars'! - but they are not in need of practical help. However, some soldiers returning from Britain's more recent wars desperately need help, so one of the causes I'm raising money for is Combat Stress, the Veteran's Mental Health charity. Originally called the Ex-Servicemen's Welfare Society, it helped those suffering from shell shock after WW1, so that seems appropriate.


Never again

The charter of the UN declared in 1945: “We the peoples of the united nations determined ..to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind...” Yet any news bulletin shows that the scourge of war is all too present in today's world; we must resist it. The three anti-war causes I would like to help are: the Christian Peace Education Fund, the Movement for the Abolition of War, and Yorkshire CND.


Donations

Here are links/instructions for giving to each of them:



If you make a donation to any or all of these causes, I'd be really pleased if you could let me know - email me.

Thank you!!

Tim Devereux

Links to other pages: May June July