Airbone Blog

Day 8

2011-08-13T12:53:00.001-07:00

Thats the team complete at John O Groats.....OUTSTANDING effort!

Day 7

2011-08-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today was only supposed to be a shortish ride of 78 miles leaving then 117 for the final push, however, when we got to 78 miles it was only 1300hrs and the team was still fresh so with plenty of cycle time left we pushed on and completed 119 miles in total leaving only 80 miles to John O'Groats tomorrow. The team had a good day today with the weather and also the scenery cycling past the Scottish Loch's including Loch Ness (didn't see the monster). The team managed to cycle 100 miles in 5hrs 38 mins breaking our 100 mile in 6hr record, with a max speed of 49.6 mph. Again some laughs on route such as Gav Froley taking a sip of water and dropping his bottle (on a dual carriageway) coming to an abrupt halt in which i ran into the back of him, we both stopped went back to try and retrieve his water bottle which by now was sitting in the middle of a busy carriageway, most of the car drivers bypast the bottle but some miserable white van man saw the opportunity and deliberately ran over the bottle reducing it to a squashed mess on the road, this had me on my knees in tears of laughter but Gav did see the funny side of it. Yet again the support staff have been on the money with providing all the team with the necessary friut and energy drinks to survive so far.

Tomorrow we are looking to start cycling at 0500hrs on the road where we will visit a couple of sereve climbs before a good down hill to finish the 900 mile E2E Cycle Challenge, then a quick photo shoot at John O'Groats then into the vehicles to head south to Catterick. Sunday will be a lunch at my sister-in-law's house which will give Alan and myself time to go cycling while Andrea cooks the dinner, after some serious bike maintenance.

Day 6

2011-08-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

he team arrived in Kinlochleven from Hamilton in just over 6 hours, the team are feeling strong and are working hard. Denis came off his bike; much to the amusement of passing motorists and the team, by all accounts he executed a perfect side left, PTSU (Parachute Training Support Unit) would have been proud! All going well I'll be able to upload some pictures today. The team set off today to Inverness via Spean Bridge, to check out the Commando Monument and to pay our respects to fallen commandos.

Day 5

2011-08-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well Day 5 complete, it has poured down all day without giving up, even now its still raining. The team started with a strong head wing, and with the driving rain made them work harder. They negotiated The Shap (The highest Road Point In The Lakes). It was down hill from there will occasional up hills. The weather didn't beat them and they cracked on in good Parachute Regiment fashion. The team arrived in Hamilton Scotland exhausted, however they had just completed 130 miles!!
The team are now tucked up in bed after a decent scoff the route is planned for the morning, leaving here at 0630Hrs towards Oban, the team will be staying in Kinlochleven .

Day 4, Whitchurch - Windermere

2011-08-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

Overall the team are in good spirits today but feeling a little sore all the same so plenty of water and food stops to keep the energy levels high. The day has been completed and has been a strong day with a lot of hard work -104 miles in the bag, and the team are just over half way through the journey. A couple of dramas today, the OC's chain snapped on his bike 5 miles from the finish, Denis Buff had dramas with his shoes, nothing that masking tape can't sort out.

The whole team, went for scoff tonight and discussed tactics for the next leg.
In the morning the admin team of Steve, Craig and Phil are cooking breakfast, so it'll be interested how that goes. The hostel we are staying at has a sauna, which Denis is in at the moment.

Tomorrow: Kendal to Hamilton! Please donate if you can, any amounts are great fully accepted and all go to the Airborne and their dependants. http://www.afghanistantrust.org/

Day 3,Cheptsow to Whitechurch

2011-08-08T01:59:00.000-07:00

The starting point for day 3 after a night hosted by 1 Rifles. Some decent sized hills have been conquered today, the team are in good spirits and the weather has been good also which took us up to our lunch break provided by our support team.....thanks guys, much appreciated, however not long after lunch Gav decided to throw himself off his bike and destroy a pretty important item, namely one of the breaks! Despite this, moral remained high and the guys cracked on in true Airborne fashion......obviously! All in all it has been a really awesome day, the team smashed 104 miles today and broke the 100 mile barrier in 6 hours, doing the next 4 in 18 minutes. The max speed was 53.3MPH AVG Speed 16.4 MPH. A few dramas on route with Gav coming off his bike much to the amusement for the rest of the team, which cost him £48 to get it repaired; the only thing that hurt was his pride. The team are now in Dale Barracks in Chester, Fed, watered, washed and on there second baths. Looking forward to the next leg in the morning Day 4 Whitchurch Windermere.

Day 2 from a member of the team!

2011-08-07T02:06:00.000-07:00

Just to keep everybody up dated on the progress from a member of the cycle team. Another good day today with the team making good progress, we were on the road cycling at 0630hrs to beat the Sunday traffic and get some miles under the belt before lunch time. Then the inevitable happened Stu Morgan (OC Para) had 2 rear puntures one after the other in the space of around 40 mins, the weather opened up with a servere down pour, i fell off going up hill as i couldn't unclip fast enough (blame my brother-in-law) and Gav Froley also fell off in the same manner with everyone cheering and cycling off leaving Gav in the ditch. We finally arrived to meet up with Phil Stout aroud 1210 for lunch having completed 51 of the 112 miles where bacon baps, chicken, and a load of other good food was waiting for the team, OUTSTANDING admin support by Phil and his team. After the lunch break of 30mins we finally hit the road for the final push, more down pours and sunshine thrown in for the majority of the afternoon with a few more cheekier hills than the morning. We finally RV'ed at the Severn Bridge with the support team at 1600 with not too many aches and pains other than the bottom area and thighs. The team complete then cycled across the bridge where Phil and the support vehicle were waiting to take us to the Rifles Camp in Chepstow to spend the night, an overall cycle time of 7hrs an improvement of 50mins from yesterday. Tomorrow will be one of our most demending days with 109 miles of cycling with severe climbs for most of the day, wish us luck.

Day 1 complete

2011-08-06T01:49:00.000-07:00

Day 1 Complete, Lands End to Barnstaple, some emotional hills to climb for the team. A total of 128 miles completed with 109 on Sunday to Chepstow. Team scoffed up and getting there heads down for the 0630 start in the morning. Morale high. Cheers Royal for letting us use RM Chivenor.

Each day must have a period of admin on the bikes to ensure that the following day runs as smoothly as possible. It goes without saying that there will be a certain amount of mechanicals but the less that the team has the better!

Lands End to John O Groates

2011-08-05T01:44:00.000-07:00

The Parachute Regiment Training Company is about to start a gruelling cycle event known as the end to end by cycling from Lands End to John O Groates to raise monies for Parachute Regiment Charities. The challenge starts on Saturday 6th August and will finish as soon as possible! Anyone wishing to follow the teams progress can join the FaceBook group by visiting: Para Reg End to End Cycle Challenge or by visiting this blog. Those of you who would like toy donate can do so by visiting www.afghanistantrust.org - all donations no matter how small will be warmly received.

This is the Team at the start point.....hopefully they will look as spritly sat the other end! The cyclists have an excellent back up team headed up by Csgt Phil Stout and a few others. Throughout the cycle the lads will be utilising accommodation from various units from the rest of the UK Armed Forces so thanks in advance to all of those units who help out. Why not cycle a leg with the Team to add your support?

Best of luck lads!

Support the part-time soldiers!

2011-05-20T02:13:00.000-07:00

The CO of the 4th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment writes in the daily Telegraph...

After six months of hard fighting on Helmand’s front line, scores of men from my unit, the 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army, returned home this month. But there is one who will not be among their number: while acting as the lead scout for a patrol in the province, Private Conrad Lewis was shot and killed by a sharpshooter, alongside a colleague, Pte Lewis Hendry. He was only 22.

Click here to read the rest of the artricle

FaceBook

2011-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Social media is enormous these days and FaceBook is probably the best known of them all, so to this end we thought that we would set a page up and see if we can increase awareness of the branch and the PRA as a whole. It is very early stages for the page but we will be adding more and more to it see take a look, become a fan and help us spread the word!

Durham PRA FaceBook Page - visit us now!

Paratrooper running marathon for charity!

2011-04-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

A PARATROOPER serving in Afghanistan has completed a remarkable endurance marathon at his base in the Helmand Province.

Lance Corporal Robert Fisher, 39, who is serving with The 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment in Shahzad, ran around the base 26 times in his body armour while carrying a general purpose machine gun.

For more information on this please click this link

Craig's Island!

2011-02-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

The parents of the last soldier to die in the Falklands conflict have bought one of the disputed islands - and named it after him as a permanent memorial to their hero son.

Craig Jones, 20, was killed on the morning of 13 June 1982 when he was hit by shell fire on Mount Longdon.

He died just a day before the brief war with Argentina for control of the Falkland Islands ended with a ceasefire agreement on 14 June.

RIP Airborne Brother

2011-02-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

The Ministry of Defence has announced the death of a soldier from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA). He was killed in Afghanistan on Monday 14 February 2011.
The soldier was deployed on an operation to reassure and secure the population in an area in the south of the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province.

Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lieutenant Colonel David Eastman, said: "Unfortunately I must announce the loss of a soldier from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment this morning. The soldier was patrolling to reassure the population of an area in the south of Nahr-e Saraj when he was struck by the blast from an improvised explosive device. Sadly the insurgents have resorted to planting explosives that target innocent civilians and soldiers indiscriminately, without care for the impact that they have or the destruction they cause. The soldier gave his life trying to defend against such senseless inhumanity. His courage and sacrifice will not be forgotten, and we offer heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. We will remember him."

The soldier's next of kin have been informed and a period of grace will follow before further details are released.

Another sad loss - RIP Airborne

2011-02-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Although not much news has been release at this time it is known that a member of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment has died in Afghanistan.

For more information please click this link.

As more information become available we will update what we know.

More information has now become available at: www.mod.uk

Our thoughts are with his family.

Airborne Soldier falls in Afghanistan

2011-01-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Sad news has just reached us that a member of the 2nd Battalion has died in Afghanistan. Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones:

Read the story so far here

Read more about this brave soldier, now named as Martin Bell.

R.I.P. David Patrick Collins - Airborne

2011-01-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

By Lauren Pyrah

SCORES of mourners have paid their last respects to a former SAS soldier who 32 years ago survived being shot in the head.

David Patrick Collins, 56, was put to rest yesterday after losing his seven-month battle with pancreatic cancer on Christmas Eve last year.

Dubbed The Man Who Came Back From The Dead, Mr Collins astonished the medical profession by surviving three days alone in the African bush after terrorists shot him in October 1977.

He went on to make an almost full recovery.

His extraordinary story was documented in a book by Barbara Cole, called The Elite: Rhodesian Special Air Service.

Yesterday, about 80 mourners paid tribute to Mr Collins at St Andrew’s Church, in Haughton, Darlington. His coffin was covered with the Union flag and Mr Collins was given a guard of honour outside the church.

Military flags, including that of the 4th Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve of the Parachute Regiment, with which Mr Collins served after his injury, were also paraded.

The Reverend David Bryant told how Mr Collins was from an Army family and lived all over the world before his father settled in Bishop Auckland.

Leaving school at 16, Mr Collins began a butchery apprenticeship, but also joined 4th Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve of the Parachute Regiment, as well as the Air Cadets.

Unable to join the regular Army because he failed a medical due to previous contact with TB, he saw an advert for volunteers to join the Army in Rhodesia and signed up, later being selected for the SAS.

Aged 23, Mr Collins was left blinded and unable to walk, talk, read or write after being shot in the back of the head in Rhodesia. The learning part of Mr Collins’ brain was affected, meaning he had
to relearn all these skills again, Mr Bryant said.

After making almost a full recovery, Mr Collins returned to Darlington – where he was originally from – and in 1986 met Diane, who was to become his second wife, at a singles’ night.

The couple married two years later and Mr Collins became stepfather to Elizabeth and Christopher.

He returned to work as a slaughterman, and took up photography and filming, as well as going on long runs every week and jumping with the Red Devils.

Due to ongoing complications as a result of his head injury, Mr Collins was admitted to West Park Hospital three years ago.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year.
The Rev Bryant said: “Diane told me she always felt safe with Dave, and he did his best to be a good father and grandfather.

His amazing courage and tenacity are an inspiration to us all.”

A bugler played The Last Post before Mr Collins’ coffin was taken from the church to a private ceremony at Darlington Crematorium.

Mr Collins is survived by his wife, stepchildren Elizabeth and Christopher and six step-grandchildren.

Extracted from the Northern Echo Farewell to SAS hero David Collins - a man of true grit (From The Northern Echo)
Refer Northern Echo

1st Meeting for 2011

2011-01-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

The 1st meeting of 2011 was a successful one both in terms of turn out and content. The information passed on from sources within the Battalion's is excellent and makes all of the PRA members feel like they are as involved as they can be. In the coming month members of DPRA will be attending the funeral of one of the fallen members of the 2 Para Battle Group to show our respect and support; the branch standard will be in attendance. We will also be endeavouring to attend a pass-out parade down at ITC Catterick and welcome the new members of the Regiment in to the brotherhood and wish them well in their careers.

The christmas party proved a success, not only was the event enjoyed by all, attended by some serving soldiers but the branch also managed to make a small profit allowing us to make an extra donation to Airborne related charities and this is what we are all about.

Paras jump in - 1st time in 50 years

2010-12-28T03:11:00.000-08:00

Reports have emerged of an Airborne drop by members of the1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment.

Airborne!

Click here to read the full story!

Brothers in Arms

2010-10-25T01:37:00.000-07:00

Mum Carla Cuthbertson and son Connan

Connan Cuthbertson is the brother of Nathan who was the 100th British Soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. Connan vowed to follow in his brothers footsteps and has taken the 1st steps towards this aim. To read the full story please visit:

The Daily Mirror article

2 Para Artist - Airborne Images

2010-10-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

It is always good to see the blokes getting on after they leave the brotherhood [do you ever really leave?] so we are delighted to give people a mention on this here blog! Craig Johnson [ex 2 Para] is an excellent illustrator - you will all recognise much of his work although you may not have attributed it to him! His website is: www.cjmilitaryphotography.com Not only is Craig's work top class his prices are extremely competative so if you or your branch is in need of some photography, framing, t-shirts or some other form of art work then give Graig a call or send him an email!

Some examples of his work that you may know!

October Meeting

2010-10-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

A good turn out [as usual] for the Durham Branch on Saturday; a few small but what is hoped significant changes were announced regarding changes to the meeting format. These will take place from Novembers meeting onwards. We will now be having a break half way through so that we can take advantage of the onsite facilities and refresh the vocal cords with a pint of your favourite ale from the bar! This will allow our hosts to take a few more shillings on the night and also give us all a break during what can be quite lengthy updates from the Regiment.

At the end of some meetings we will now be having a quiz based around military history/interest and of course all things Airborne! If the treasurer can have his arm twisted we may even have the odd buffet on quiz nights!

The night concluded with several branch members attending a surprise party for the current RSM of 2 Para {Durham Branch member} prior to his departure to Afghanistan........a good night was had by all and we wish him and all of the others a safe trip and look forward to their return in 2011.

£350 to the Afghan fund

2010-09-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Durham PRA has made its latest donation to a charitable cause, namely the Regiments Afghan fund. This donation was to the tune of £350 and was raised during our latest trip to Arnhem and by some collection boxes placed in some busy local public houses. Now £350 might not seem a huge amount of money but if each of the PRA's Branches raised similar amounts then this would amount to over £30 000! Of course the other branches do raise money also but lets keep the smaller amounts coming in, particularly as both 2 & 3 Para are getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan once more.

To all those that contributed thank you and to those who rattled the tins well done!

Arnhem 2010 in pictures

2010-09-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Ok then, as promised some imagery from the branch taken on their recent trip to Arnhem. For more photographs from this trip and other past Airborne experiences visit our Airborne Pictures page!

Regimental Asscoiations in the News!

2010-09-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Regimental Associations are something that i wholeheartedly believe in, i attend my own and actively encourage others to attend theirs regardless of what Regiment or indeed arm of the service they are from. I have noticed from my own local branch that there is somewhat of an age gap when it comes to the members and this is something that i actively try to help out with even if it is only at a local level. So, when the opportunity came to voice my opinion in a magazine that reaches out to many serving and ex-servicemen i thought why not? It could give the various organisations some much needed new impetuous and help secure the future of a whole host of regimental Associations.

The Circuit Magazine suggested that i pen an article on just this subject then i readily agreed. I used my own experiences to suggest why i had not attended my local PRA as soon as i left the Battalion, others will be in the same situation that i was, many will have other reasons for not attending but for me it has to start at a battalion level. We need greater and greater awareness so that the serving soldiers know that the PRA exists and there is highly likely to be one in a town near them; the PRA has close to 100 different branches in the UK. Once i got in to the groove of attending the meetings [once a month on a Saturday in our case) it just became something that i do on a regular basis, not only that but i enjoy them and the fact that i feel that i am giving something back to those Airborne soldiers or their dependants that have fallen on hard times.

One way to increase awareness levels is by having a strong online presence which is why we at The Parachute Regiment Association Durham Branch are now developing our website along with other ways to network so that people become more aware of us. This is the way, 2010 is the year and the you have to look forward and not back.

To read the full article then just click on the link.

Regimental_Associations_Durham_PRA