Fundraiser cycles over 500 miles to reunite his Grandparents

Mark Hobson, a fundraiser from Barnard Castle has raised over £1,000 for Combat Stress by cycling over 500 miles to his Grandfather’s war grave in France. Mark took his Grandmother’s ashes with him to reunite his Grandparents on their wedding anniversary.

Mark said;

“It was important for me to reunite my Grandparents on their anniversary and I thought it would be boring to drive or fly. I love cycling and tend to do it every other day so decided I would cycle the 509 miles to my Grandfather’s war grave in France.

“I didn’t have a support team and took everything I needed with me. I had a few hiccups along the way, mechanical problems with the bike, navigation issues and I even lost a crown in my tooth. But I managed to make it through the gates at 10am on 28 May, my Grandparents anniversary. It was a very emotional day, it was the first time my Grandfather and Grandmother had been together for over 74 years and now they rest together forever.

“My Father in Law has received help from Combat Stress so when I decided to do this challenge I wanted to raise money to support the work they do. I was aiming to raise £1,000, but I’ve raised £300 more which is fantastic.”

Robert Marsh, Director Income Generation at Combat Stress said:

“On behalf of everyone at the charity I’d like to thank Mark for taking on such an incredible and personal challenge in aid of the Combat Stress.

“Each year we receive more than 2,000 referrals from veterans struggling with trauma-related mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Support from fundraisers, like Mark, is vital to ensure we can continue to help every veteran who comes to us.”

To sponsor Mark please visit his JustGiving page.