‘Team Parachute Regiment’ will be Car number 1 out of 50. The team, still to be announced, will include at least one injured soldier. The vehicle has been kindly loaned by LandRover.

The award winning HELP for HEROES 4×4 EUROPEAN RALLY has raised over £300,000 since its launch on Armed Forces Day 2010. The route follows the path of the Allied Invasion through Europe through locations in the fabled Band of Brothers book and TV series.

As young men who knew extraordinary bravery and  fear, the Allied Forces landed in France early on D-Day morning – 6th June 1944. The liberation of Europe had commenced. That history will unfold as our journey progresses; some parts of the route will also include areas of the ‘Western Front’ of WWI.

The event will start at 11:30am on Saturday 16th June 2012 at Littlecote House Hotel in North Wiltshire. After using byways on Salisbury Plain we will then travel to Portsmouth to embark on the ferry over to France. This 2000mile / 3200km expedition will encompass 6 European countries over a period of 12 days; concluding in Bavaria, Germany.

This non-speed touring assembly, with a maximum entry of 45 teams, will be part military history tour (including museums etc), fun activities, part off-road driving and part club-type social, open to road-legal 4×4 vehicles. The whole focus is the raising of funds for charity.

In addition to Normandy, the H4H 4×4 Rally route will visit The Somme, Ypres, the ‘Market Garden’ and ‘Rhine’ offensives at Arnhem; where on 17 September 1944, in the largest airborne operation ever seen, thousands of paratroopers descended from the sky by parachute or glider up to 150 km behind enemy lines.

Our route moves south, to Bastogne in Belgium where in the coldest winter for decades, the Germans made a final push – ‘The Battle of the Bulge’.

Towards Germany, the rally routing is via the Alsace region of France and its Maginot Line fortifications, then onto Dachau and its horrors of war. We end our journey at Hitler’s “impenetrable” Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden

The Tour Divide is an annual single stage Mountain Bike Race that takes place in Canada and the USA during June and July.

The race begins in Banff (Alberta, Canada), proceeds through the Rocky Mountains and ends in Antelope Wells (New Mexico, USA).

It is a single stage, self supported mountain bike race over a distance of 2745 miles and is arguably the toughest bike race in the world. The race starts on 8th June 2012.

The challenge of the race lies not only in its distance and the difficulty of the terrain: racers must also be entirely self-supported for the duration of the race, are required to bivouac trailside.

They must be prepared to ride for distances of up to 180 miles per day for up to 20 hours per day until they complete the route. At the finish line racers will have climbed more than 200,000 ft.

Major Jon Cox is a Company Commander in The Parachute Regiment. He plans to compete in the 2012 Tour Divide to raise money for The Parachute Regiment Charity.

You can read more about Jon’s adventure  and follow him by tracker at his ParaDivideRide website, where you can also donate online. Alternatively you can donate directly.

–  MAKE HISTORY!

Monday 4^th June 2012

Always wanted to skydive?

The Parachute Regiment Charity and Real Radio are organising an event you do not want to miss!

What better way to support our Paras than to try what they do ?

You’ll be exiting a perfectly good aircraft and enjoying the highest skydive in the UK whilst also raising valuable funds for The Parachute Regiment Charity. We will try to beat the Guinness World Record for the most number of tandem parachute jumps in one day. Skydive Hibaldstow, Lincolnshire, set the record at 130 jumpers in July 2011 but now we want to smash this with a massive 200 jumpers!

What kind of skydive will I be doing?

A Tandem skydive allows you to enjoy one minute of adrenaline-fuelled freefall harnessed to the front of a BPA-qualified instructor and you simply need a short 20 minute briefing beforehand as it is the instructor who opens and lands the parachute. It will be the most exhilarating experience of your life!

How much do I have to fundraise?

To take part and effectively jump for free you need to raise a minimum amount of £370. This covers the cost of the skydive at a special discounted rate offered by Skydive Hibaldstow of £185 per person and a minimum donation to the Parachute Regiment Charity of £185. Every extra penny that you raise over the minimum comes straight to the charity too, so please try to raise as much as you possibly can!

Please download the World Record Tandem Info and World Record Registration Form. They will tell you all you need to know.

You can register online at this special World Record page at Skydive Hibaldstow

If you have any Charity or fundraising questions, call us on 01206 817074 or email victoria@paracharity.org

You can set up a Justgiving online fundraising page from this site. Please note that all online fundraising must only go to the charity, not pay for your jump. If you use offline sponsorship forms then you must make it clear that part of the sponsorship is going to fund your jump.

This children’s book has been written through the eyes of one such dog called Bing, an Alsatian cross, serving with the 13^th Parachute Battalion. It follows his exploits through basic training and  jumping into action as a parachuting dog supporting the Sniper Reconnaissance Platoon. Bing was trained to use his specialist skills in locating the enemy and guarding the men he loved and served.

He and his friend Rob, a border Collie, went on to receive the highest Gallantry award given to animals: the PDSA Dicken Medal, equivalent to  the Victoria Cross, for their selfless, heroic and brave service during D-Day and the Rhine Crossing.

Also at the book launch will be ‘Peg’, the dog that Private Conrad Lewis of the 4PARA fell in love with, and became his best friend in Afghanistan last year, just before Conrad was killed from gunshot wounds sustained during a firefight.

His family knew of Conrad’s love for this dog and brought him home to the family in England to live in peace for the rest of his days.

How to order the book:

To reserve your hard back copy in the first instance, email: airborne.enquiries@gmail.com with your full name and postal address headed BING BOOK ORDER

Then send a cheque made payable to the “Airborne Assault Trading Limited” for £16.45 (£13.95 plus £2.50 P&P) to the Airborne Assault Museum, Building 213, The Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire, CB22 4QR. Your book will be dispatched from 15^th April – the official launch date.

THE AUTHOR

Gil Boyd B.E.M served in the Second Battalion The Parachute Regiment until 1974, then joined the Police service where he served for 30 years retiring in 2004 as the Prinicipal Technical Officer within the Serious & Organised Crime Department.

Gil  carried out a series of dare devil stunts in the early 80s for Great Ormond Street Childrens’ hospital where his son was rushed for life saving surgery when he was born.  Tom, now fully recovered, serves in the Parachute Regiment. The stunts included parascending under ten London bridges, abseiling the Telecom Tower, and conducting death slides from London Bridge and across the River Thames, all  World Records at the time. Gil went on to become a Patron of the Friends of the Childrens Hospice at Milton in Cambridge.

Gil has designed much innovative equipment, including the wrist worn microwave downlink viewing images transmitted by Police helicopters to officers on the ground. For this he received BBC TV’s Tomorrows World Inventor of the Year Award in 2000.

Following the Hungerford Massacre, he also designed a  miniature microwave camera system used by search dogs where video footage was transmitted safely  from within a stronghold,. This won Gil a Home Office Award from the Home Secretary.

It was this close work with dogs that helped Gil develop a reasonable understanding of their ability to support humans, and made it possible for him to write this book through the eyes of the dogs.

The Queens Hotel – 01252 311 699
The Heron Hotel & Pub – 01252 409 867
Premier Inn – 0871 527 8018
Potters International Hotel – 01252 344 000
Cedar Court – 01252 320 931
Heavenly Lodge Hotel – 01252 320 801
Lismoyne Hotel – 01252 628 555
The Redwood Hotel – 01252 369 880

Farnborough:

The Aviator – 01252 555 890
The Falcon Hotel – 01252 545 378
Holiday Inn (Old Queens Hotel) – 0870 400 9029
Netley Guest House – 01252 372 451
Colebrock Guest House – 01252 542 269
The Alexandra Hotel – 01252 370 361
The Silverdale Hotel – 01252 541 891
Travelodge – 0871 984 6423
Oak Tree Guest House – 01252 545 491
Park Lodge Guest House – 01252 540 651
Tudorwood Guest House – 01252 541 123

Farnham:

The Bush Hotel – 01252 715 237
The Bishops Table – 01252 710 222
Ramada (Old Hogs Back Hotel) – 0844 815 9046
Farnham Park Hotel – 01252 728 603
The Mercure Hotel – 01252 715 237
The Wellingtons Hotel – 01252 715 549

Camberley:

Burwood House Hotel – 01276 685 686
Macdonald Frimley Hall & Spa – 0844 879 9110
RSVP Cambridge Hotel – 01276 26488
Camberley Guest House – 01276 24410
Meadowcroft Guest House – 01276 27932
Tekels Park Guest House – 01276 23159

People may wish to travel to Aldershot on the Saturday; therefore arrangements have been made with the Trafalgar Pub (The Traf) to hold a get together drink in the evening.

It is recommended that those wishing to book over night accommodation should make their bookings early.

 Sunday 17^th June:

1130 hrs to 1215 hrs – Drumhead Service at Aldershot Military Cemetery (Prior to the Service starting from 1030 hrs there will be free of change Tea/Coffee and Toilets available).

 1315 hrs – March Past Forms Up on Willems Avenue (opposite to Princes Hall) in three guards:

 No 1 Guard – 2 & 3 Para Colour Parties and 3 Para Marching Contingent.

 No 2 Guard – Falkland Veterans.

 No 3 Guard – Members of the PRA and their Standards.

 1335 hrs – March Past Steps Off.

 1355 hrs – March Past is halted in front of the Princes Hall.

 1400 hrs – Fly Past Falklands War Era Aircraft.

 1405 hrs to 1600 hrs – Reception in the Princes Hall (Cash Bar).

 Car Parking:

Aldershot Military Cemetery: For the duration of the service free car parking is available; follow signage when you arrive near the area of the cemetery.

Aldershot Town Centre: There are two main Multy-story Car Parks, one opposite Burger King (Old NAAFI) and the other is located in the Wellington Centre. Both of those car parks you are required to pay for parking.

Books by Para authors which benefit The Parachute Regiment Charity. Our thanks to the authors for their generosity.

More Sky Laughing by Roger Payne

This unashamedly politically incorrect collection of 257 true stories gathered from former members of The Parachute Regiment and Airborne forces is almost guaranteed to have any former Para in stitches.

Those who don’t appreciate the ‘Queens Workplace English’ should refrain from purchasing a copy as it celebrates the particular madness of the British airborne soldier from the Regiment’s inception in World War 2  until now. The humour is sick, perverse, downright rude, definitely weird and warped – a consequence of the vocation each individual has chosen.

These are hard men that have survived one of the toughest selection processes in the world . They wear the famous maroon beret, silver winged cap badge and blue cloth wings with pride.

Download the ebook for £4.78 from Amazon Free Kindle reading software can be downloaded to your PC here

Terrible Beauty by Ed Lane

‘Captain Gill Somers is in Spain working undercover for MI6. Her lover is a Basque terrorist. One tiny mistake could kill her. Terrible Beauty. That’s ETA’s reign of terror. The Spanish are reeling from yet more huge explosions in their largest cities. The Policia Nacional are unable to cope and they ask the British for help.’

Ed Lane

Whilst studying  Ed Lane joined the OTC and was commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers before eventually joining The Parachute Regiment TA.

He founded a graphic design company where he honed his writing skills on marketing campaigns for national and multi-national companies. Early-retirement, has enabled him to devote more time to writing, and he now lives in the Lincolnshire Wolds with his wife Barb.

His novels are a personal salute to the courage, dedication and professionalism of Britain’s armed forces. This book is dedicated to the wounded of The Parachute Regiment, and a donation to ParaCharity will be made for each book sold.

ISBN  978-178035-096-7 £11.99 post-free from Amazon. Copies can also be ordered direct from the publisher www.fastprint.net/store.php

If signed/dedicated copies are wanted, these can be ordered from the author; e-mail: edtheauthor@gmail.com  but there will be an additional charge for postage and packing.

Fishing in Time: Barney Rolfe-Smith

Barney Rolfe-Smith (PARA 1969-2003) has published ‘Fishing in Time: The History of the Leintwardine Fishing Club’ the history of Leintwardine Fly Fishing Club, one of the oldest and most exclusive clubs in the country.

Royalties of ‘Fishing in Time’ are kindly donated to Paracharity.

More details and how to buy from Barney can be found here or  buy online from Amazon

Jack Marshman, British Champion

Paratrooper and current British middleweight champion, Jack Marshman, had a World Title shot against the vastly experienced BAMMA middleweight champion Tom “Kong” Watson. The fight topped the bill at BAMMA9 on March 24th in Birmingham. Despite a brave battle and the support of the crowd, Jack’s challenge was stopped by Watson. But he’ll be back – the noise at the NIA made it clear he is  a very popular fighter.

Support Jack by Text and Raffle for T-shirt

Jack and BAMMA  supported the charity at the National Indoor Arena with a Donate by Text appeal.   You can still support him: Text JACK09 £5 to 70070.

You can also win an online  RAFFLE for a signed Jack Marshman T-shirt autographed at the bout.

Marshman, who previously had a perfect professional record of ten fights, ten wins, balances his mixed martial arts career with his service in the Reg. And he promotes the Charity in the ring.

His win over Carl Noon for the Lonsdale British middleweight title was one of the domestic fights of the year last year.

Welsh-born Jack, 21, who serves with 3PARA, defended his Lonsdale title  and unbeaten record at BAMMA 8 at the  in Nottingham in December  against Lee ‘Leeroy’ Barnes. He won by Unanimous Decision.

 Jack is ‘one of the hottest prospects in UK MMA’, and also current Army Light Heavyweight Boxing Champ and now has his own Wikipedia entry.

“It’s not enough that he puts his life on the line in his day job as a proud member of 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. He’s also a rising star in the toughest sport in the world.” writes the Daily Star.

He will be promoting the charity as his career goes from strength to strength. Top of the World Jack!

The Band of The Parachute Regiment has recorded an album for Remembrance. ‘When Poppies Fall’ has 27 tracks on the CD.

‘When Poppies Fall’ has added significance for Musician Kate Whittaker, whose brother Pte Joe Whittaker (4 Para) was killed while on operations in Afghanistan. She penned the track ‘Song For Joe’ in memory of her late sibling.

“This was a song she had written before the album,” said Music Director Capt Hammond. “I told her it had to be recorded. We reworked it slightly and she plays a solo on the piece as well. It is a fitting tribute.”

27 Tracks included:

1 The Vanished Army
2 The British Legion: March
3 The Death of Ase from Peer Gynt
4 Death march from Saul
5 Ave Verum Corpus
6 David of the White Rock
7 Thy Hand Belinda/When I’m Laid in Earth
8 Flow My Tears
9 Der Tod und das Madchen
10 Song for Joe
11When Poppies Fall
12 Nimrod from Enigma Variations
13 Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4
14 Abide With Me
15 Eternal Father Strong to Save
16 O God Our Help in Ages Past
17 The Supreme Sacrifce
18 Nightfall in Camp
19 Flowers of the Forest
20 Last Post
21 Two Minutes Silence
22 Reveille
23 Sunset
24 God Save the Queen
25 The Ride of Valkyries
26 Le Rejouissance
27 Epilogue

Buy now at www.airborneshop.com

Proceeds go to ParaCharity.

Jaco (R) with Keirhan Dry at the Capitol last year

Private Jaco van Gass, who lost an arm  and much of the muscle tissue on his left side to an RPG in Afghanistan, is tabbing the 2011 New York Marathon for Paracharity.

This is his second American marathon for the Charity after the US Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) last year in Washington DC.

Jaco said: “I have had some truly breathtaking experiences this year. Last October I was part of The Parachute Regiment team of wounded warriors that ran the MCM.

We had an awesome time and were honoured to show our support for our American allies. America was very welcoming to us and we were overwhelmed by the support. We also raised much-needed funds for ParaCharity.

I am proud and excited to be running New York this year for the same charity that supports my own Parachute Regiment. I would also like to thank the Allied Forces Foundation in the USA which has made it possible for British soldiers like me to take part in these great events.”

Please support Jaco by donating online

Jaco is taking time out from his training with the Walking with the Wounded (WWTW) team, which will attempt to climb Everest in 2012. Their successful Arctic trek to the North Pole with Prince Harry was televised and WWTW is dedicated to raising £2m for the re-education and re-training of our wounded servicemen & women.