Pals cycle across the UK for SSAFA

08 September 2023

Lincoln men, Marcus Elliott and Dan Thompson rode their bikes from military base to military base, starting at Newquay, RAF St Mawgan, to RAF Waddington - over 1000 kilometres - to raise money for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, Cancer Research UK and the RAF Benevolent Fund.

The original idea stemmed from Marcus' desire to commemorate his dad's life. Gareth Elliot, a Flight Sergeant with the RAFP who died of cancer in January 2022. The project developed into a multi-day cycling trip through all of Gareth's English military bases. Dan, Marcus’s friend, who is a REME veteran, offered to join in, and the Tour de Bases was conceived.

Marcus said: “When choosing a charity to support, SSAFA was the obvious choice. The Army supported Dan when his mum was diagnosed with cancer. They organised to fly him home from Hameln in Germany, where he was serving, when her condition deteriorated, and she passed.

“We wanted to support SSAFA because we want to ensure service personnel and their families receive support and care in times of need.”

Marcus and Dan thanked Mick Watson, who drove the support car. Mick worked with Marcus's dad for many years in the RAFP Dog Section as Sergeant and looked after their equipment and overnight stops along the route.