After nearly losing his son, Somerset airman giving back to SSAFA with London Marathon place

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03 March 2025

Carl Edwards is running the London Marathon on 27 April to thank SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, for being there during the toughest period of his life. 

Carl is originally from Taunton, Somerset, but his time in the RAF has taken him and his family all over the globe. In his eight years as a RAF logistics driver, he has lived in Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, and currently lives and works in southeast London, working in recruitment. 

One year into his service Carl and his partner Sian were expecting the birth of their third child, Harvey. Complications with the pregnancy arose, as part of little Harvey’s bladder was outside of his body, a condition known as “bladder exstrophy”. At 20 weeks Harvey only had a 10 percent chance of survival. Carl and Sian were in and out of the hospital every week, while also trying to care for their other two children Connor and Kayla.

In Carl and Sian’s moment of need, SSAFA stepped in: “Sian had to have a C-section, Harvey was operated on as soon as he was born, and he spent two weeks in intensive care. SSAFA kept in touch the whole time, and the personal touch that they offered in that moment – anything we needed, from emotional support to reimbursement for food and travel – it made all the difference in the world.”

Harvey made a full recovery and is now a happy six-year-old boy, with those difficult days now years in the past. Carl wanted to give back to SSAFA for all the support they provided him and his family, and he decided to run the 2025 London Marathon for the Armed Forces charity.