Wayne Walks It!
17 August 2020
Like most charities, SSAFA has seen its income from the “peak” fund raising summer season severely reduced during the Pandemic. Here in Wiltshire, we rely on public donations to support our work as each part of SSAFA is expected to be self-sufficient in funding its activities. So, the Coronavirus situation left us worried about how we might do that this year.
To the rescue came Rowde veteran Wayne Cherry who decided to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Japan Day (VJ Day) by walking 75 miles around Devizes over several days. In the event, Wayne injured his foot after a few days, but soldiered on sitting in the town centre with his SSAFA bucket instead. It’s humbling that veterans such as Wayne, having given so much in service, always turn out to support the Forces Family in their hour of need.
Wayne raised a MAGNIFICENT £1088.01, and we know how heavy those buckets can get once Wiltshire folk start showing their generosity! Wayne is a serial fund raiser, having supported the RBL, Rowdeford School, CRUK, a young lady in Scotland undergoing cancer treatment and the NHS Charities just in the last year, so we were delighted he decided to raise funds on our behalf this time.
Wayne joined the army as an RAOC Apprentice in 1977 and served for just short of 24 years in Devizes and elsewhere in the UK, Germany, Italy, and ended his service in Marchwood.
Operations he was involved in included support of the Ceasefire Monitoring Force in Rhodesia, the Falklands Campaign, and the 1st Gulf War in Saudi Arabia and Northern Iraq, Southern Turkey, Falklands, Bosnia and Kosovo.
His civilian career in logistics management included working on Heathrow Terminal 5 and the Atomic Weapons Establishment.
Wayne came out of shielding on the 1st of August and wanted to do something to mark the 75th anniversary of VJ day. He decided to walk 75 Miles to mark the event and we are extremely grateful that he did!