A FUNDRAISER finished his 83 mile bike ride from Eccleston in Cheshire to Holyhead by donating his great uncle's medal from World War One to a museum.
David Wilson, who is in his 60s, carried out the sponsored bike ride for CALM - Campaign Against Living Miserably. He raised more than £1,200 for the charity.
Mr Wilson, who is married to Kim and has two sons Gareth and Iain, carried out the challenge with his great uncle, Richard Jones, in mind.
Mr Jones was a crewman on HMS Tara. On patrol off Libya, the ship was torpedoed by U35, a German submarine, and sank with the loss of 10 men. The survivors, Richard included, were made POWs and handed over to Senussi Tribesmen on the Libyan shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The crew were marched inland, across a desert terrain, some 70 miles to an oasis called Bir Hakkim. The oasis had very poor quality water and very little edible vegetation. Rations provided by their captors were meagre so the crew scavenged the area for any food; the crew survived on a staple made from snail stew. Parasites in the snails and the water infected the men and many fell ill. Three men died of sickness and another man succumbed to injury sustained when the ship was sinking. When British forces discovered that captured sailors were held at Bir Hakkim, a major in the Cheshire Yeomanry led a rescue mission which was completed in March 1916. That officer was the second Duke of Westminster.
The fundraiser started in the grounds of the church in Eccleston Cheshire.
In the churchyard is a memorial monument dedicated to the second Duke.
Mr Wilson started his ride and stopped off at "significant" locations on his way to Holyhead, which included many stations.
Mr Jones was born in Holyhead and died a bachelor, aged 35, four years later on March 16 1920. The family never spoke of the circumstances of his death.
Mr Wilson said: "I don't think Richard recovered fully on his return to Britain. He had survived the explosion of the torpedo, the possibility of drowning had he not made it into a lifeboat, the forced march through the heat of the day and the cold of the night of the Libyan desert, the bereavement suffered at the loss of fellow sailors and then the parasitic illness which laid him very low both physically and mentally. I think today he would have been diagnosed with PTSD.
"This is why I chose to raise funds for CALM. The route highlighted the link between the 2nd Duke of Westminster and the crewmen he rescued."
Mr Jones received at least three medals for his service when the war ended.
One of the medals came into Mr Wilson's ownership; Mr Wilson like to think his great uncle gave each of his sisters a medal as a token of thanks for looking after him on his return to Britain.
Mr Wilson's grandmother was given the Victory Medal which is suspended on the ribbon of the 1914-18 Star; Mr Wilson came into possession of the medal when clearing his grandparents house in Bethesda Street in Gronant about 50 years ago.
Mr Wilson donated this medal to the Maritime Museum in Holyhead who have a HMS Tara display.
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The retired Sheffield based police officer, who grew up in Prestatyn, said: "The second day of the fundraiser was the hardest in distance and time; I reached seven railway stations on the route.
"This day was the most interesting.
"I met three people. All were all connected in some way with the charity I was supporting. I met a railway contractor who had prevented a man jumping onto the tracks at Shotton Low and a teacher at Ysgol Aberconwy. The school had created artwork about the dangers of being on the rail tracks which was on display in the waiting shelter at Conwy. The teacher knew about CALM as a relative had, for seven years, relied on help from the charity.
"I also met a fellow cyclist who helped me navigate the detour to my destination.
"We chatted about my challenge and he told me that he was a mental health professional in primary care in the local hospital."
Mr Wilson continued: "On the final day, we set off for the railway station at Valley. This was the last stop in the island before crossing the causeway onto Holyhead island. When I reached the railhead, and the old now redundant harbour, I knew my journey was nearly over. I mounted the bike for one last push on the final 400 metres or so from the station to the home of the HMS Tara exhibition at the Maritime Museum in the old lifeboat station."
Mr Wilson met with Barry Hillier, chair of the HMS Tara Society.
"It was good to meet him as we had only been in contact by text and phone calls," Mr Wilson said.
"I was then taken into the museum where I saw my cousin, Betty, adjusting the clasps on the mayoral chain of office of the Mayor of Holyhead. The rest of the HMS Tara committee were there too. I hadn’t expected such a ‘civic reception’ at the end of my journey.
"It gave me great pleasure to hand over my great uncle’s medal from WW1.
"I knew it would be safe and cared for by the museum."
To read more about Mr Wilson's fundraiser, the reasons behind it, and about Mr Wilson's great uncle, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-wilson252
The page is still open for donations.
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