News

Former commando Neil Randall is rolling back the years as he leads a fund-raising yomp across Dartmoor in aid of a special memorial to fallen servicemen from Plymouth’s 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.

Neil, 51, – who now works as Personnel Officer at Securi-Guard - is being joined by colleague Dave Campbell, 47, Operations Manager and around 18 other hardy souls on the arduous 30 mile walk this August.

The team will carry full backpacks on the two day sponsored trek, which will begin at Okehampton and end at the gates of the Royal Citadel, home to the regiment and where the Commando Gunner Memorial will be sited.

The fund raising appeal to build the memorial is being co-ordinated by Major Paul Greene, who Neil served with as a commando for ten years. They both joined as 16-year-old raw recruits at Lympstone in 1974 and went on to become firm friends.

“The regiment is keen to have a memorial that will be a focal point for people to pay tribute to those soldiers who gave their lives in service of their country,” said Neil.

“It was an appeal I simply had to support and we hope to raise as much money as possible to help pay for this monument. It has been a long time since I yomped across Dartmoor as a raw recruit so we have all started training now to make sure we are in good shape come August.”  

A total of £30,000 has already been raised towards the £100,000 cost of the memorial. Built from Plymouth limestone and granite, it will feature the names of 14 soldiers killed on operations since the regiment was formed in 1962.

It is hoped that the memorial will be completed by the end of the summer and Major Greene is co-ordinating a whole host of fund raising events to help hit the target.

It is not the first time Neil has helped out his old services pal. Last April he recruited staff at Securi-Guard to contribute to a special Buddy Box appeal in which special parcels were filled with goodies and sent to servicemen on the front line in Afghanistan.

It was Securi-Guard chairman Bill Boyd who initially offered help to the regiment and his son, managing director Scott Boyd, pledged ten boxes from the firm. The company is a keen supporter of the services, particularly the Help for Heroes charity.

Other Securi-Guard staff also contributed scores of boxes of their own, donating items including toiletries, food stuffs, books, pens and writing paper -all co-ordinated by Neil.

To sponsor Neil and the rest of his team, email him at commandogunner@aol.com or telephone 07789371272

< Back