Army tribute to ‘inspiring’ John
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TRIBUTE is to be paid to a former Wick man by a group of soldiers from the British Army’s Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
On May 29 seven soldiers will arrive in the town with their support crew ready to tackle the John O’Groats to Land’s End challenge over the following eight days.
Although the soldiers are based at Thorney Island in Portsmouth, they have a very local connection.
The team has called its fundraising challenge "John’s JOGLE", named after John Robinson, a former Lindsay Place resident and father-in-law to the organiser and team member Corporal Craig Thomson-Hay (29).
John was in his late seventiess when he passed away suddenly in April last year in Perthshire, where the family lived after leaving Wick in 1988.
"John was one of the greatest men I have known – I knew him for around 13 years and he was an inspiration for a lot of things in my life during that time," said Corporal Thomson-Hay.
"After he died we were all sitting in his lounge reminiscing and one story that really got me was that randomly, when he was 15 and living in Dublin, he got on his bike and cycled round Ireland – but didn’t tell his mum.
He added: "I thought that was brilliant and just typical of the bloke that I knew – he was impulsive and when he knew what he wanted to do he just did it."
That proved to be the inspiration behind the John O’Groats to Land’s End cycle and the family decided that the proceeds should go to the charities John supported throughout his life – the Samaritans, Help for Heroes and the British Heart Foundation.
Corporal Thomson-Hay then approached some of his colleagues who were more than willing to get involved with the challenge.
Thanks to support from his current regiment, 47 Regiment Royal Artillery Workshop, a back-up crew was organised and the trip planned.
The route, taking in Inverness, Glasgow, Carlisle, Warrington and Bristol, will cover 100 to 120 miles a day over the eight days.
John’s daughter, Corporal Thomson-Hay’s wife Kate (31), has agreed to help with the support crew, taking two weeks off from her job as a theatre nurse at University College London Hospital.
She will have overall responsibility for the menu and cooking, no mean feat considering that each team member will require 7500 calories a day.
With such a mammoth task ahead of them, the cyclists have been practising hard, including using the Isle of Wight as a training route.
They started training with a mix of abilities and a wide range of past cycling experiences.
One of the team has triathlon experience, another is a downhill mountain biker but some haven’t been on a bike since they were youngsters.
Initially Cpl Mark Pinder would not let go of the handlebars of his bike.
This proved to be a challenge for the rest of the team following him as he failed to indicate hazards, turnings or the fact that he was braking.
With such a wide range of abilities the training has been punctuated with both funny and painful moments.
While the team is in Wick prior to starting the journey, the 1st Wick Scout Group has allowed the use of its hut as an overnight camp.
At one point in the past John, a builder by trade, renewed the roof on the hall, making it another poignant reminder in the fundraising effort.
On May 29 the team members will be in the Scout Hut, Kirkhill, from 3pm, or the Alexander Bain pub in the evening, and are encouraging people to come and say hello and donate to any of the causes if they wish to do so.
There are three JustGiving pages for the challenge where donations can be made online – the Samaritans: www.justgiving.com/craig-thomson-hay; Help for Heroes: www.justgiving.com/craig-thomson-hay1; and the British Heart Foundation: www.justgiving.com/craig-thomson-hay2
