A REDDITCH man has today (June 6) set off on his epic walk across the D-Day beaches to fundraise for The Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust (GKCCT) and SSAFA – The Armed Forces Charity.
James’ daughter Emilia went through a diagnosis of Aplastic Anaemia and the family was given help and support by The Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust.
He said: “I couldn’t think of two better causes – The Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust made a real difference for us as a family.
“As a veteran with many friends still serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF), I am in awe of the support that SSAFA offers to serving members of our armed forces, veterans and their families.”
James will be walking more than 80km as part of a group honouring the sacrifice made 81 years ago on D-Day.
The battlefield expedition is being organised by Challenge The Wild and James will be joined by Ant Middleton from Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, Andrew Jenkins from the BBC’s The Traitors, Fia Tarrant from Heart Radio and Toby Tarrant from Radio X.
James’ daughter Emilia had a Stem Cell Transplant in September 2023 and James and the whole family all had various forms of invaluable support from the GKCCT whilst going through this difficult time.
As a family they took the decision early on to share Emilia’s story and help other families by also raising awareness and funds for various charities including the GKCCT.
James added: “I’m looking forward to the challenge and will take with me the pride in supporting such wonderful charities that are so close to our hearts.”
Anyone who wants to donate can visit: gofund.me/db6ac3b3 and anyone wanting to follow his progress can do so on his YouTube channel by going to YouTube.com and searching for ‘ChallengeJim’.
