This season, the Mayan 7s Rugby Team are raising money and awareness of the charity, while winning trophies along the way!

This summer sees the inaugural season of the Mayans 7s team who have chosen to support us due to the fact their captain, John, was a PARA. They said, “This is a charity that does fantastic work in a much needed area of society that receives little support otherwise.”

The team is playing 8 tournaments in all which will see them spend their summer touring the country. They even came to Colchester in May to run the PARAS’10 (a day after playing the Basingstoke 7s!)

To show the Mayans your support, please visit their fundraising page.

A big thank you to all the guys and girls involved and good luck for the rest of the season! Keep your eyes out for their awesome shirts this summer (with our logo proudly featured) and give them a shout if you see them about.

For more information about the Mayans, or to keep up to date with how they get on this season, check out their social media pages:

Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

Colchester based Para Cpl Hyde is currently taking on the Amazon rainforest in a bid to raise £10,000 for the charity.

Cpl Antony ‘Herbie’ Hyde signed up to take part in the Jungle Ultra Marathon, which will seem him travel 230km in just 7 days. The event takes place in the Manu National Park, deep in the Amazon rainforest, Peru.

The course will see Herbie travel from the Andes mountains to the Madre di Dios river, with temperatures reaching 30 degrees during the day and then dropping to 10 degrees at night.

Race participants must be self-sufficient, which means Herbie will be responsible for carrying his entire kit, including food (a minimum of 2,000 calories a day), safety equipment and a minimum of 2.5 litres of water which he can refill at checkpoints along the way.

Cpl Hyde has been training for the last 6 months to prepare for the event and continues to push himself. He says, “This is a massive achievement and goal for me,  but most importantly I am doing this to raise as much money as possible for this great Charity, Support Our Paras. ”

Herbie has chosen to raise an ambitious target of £10,000 and is already almost half way there! You can support him by visiting his fundraising page here.

​They are both over 60 years old.
They are both grandads.
They have never rowed before.
They are both ex-Paratroopers.

Neil and Peter, both ex-2 PARA, have chosen to take on the incredible challenge of rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in the hopes of both raising thousands of pounds for their three chosen charities and attempting to set a world record as the oldest pair to row the Atlantic (their combined age will be 123 when they set off!)

‘The Grandads’ are doing this as part of the 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, described as ‘the world’s toughest row’.

​The 2018 event will see approximately 30 teams take on the colossal challenge of racing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, using nothing but oars and sheer determination.​

The teams are unassisted. They will take enough food to survive at least 70 days at sea and will need to navigate the route and manage any repairs (including underwater) on their own.

Neil and Peter are raising money for Dreams Come True, Support Our Paras and RBLI.  You can donate to their charities here.

The Grandads don’t expect to win the race, but they’ll give it a damn good try! Follow their journey at www.grandadsoftheatlantic.com

The Airborne Forces Security Fund is again making a grant available to veterans of the Battle of Arnhem to assist with the cost of their commemorative trip this September. The grant is £480 for a veteran, £480 for his wife or partner and £480 if a carer is needed. The maximum grant is therefore £1,440.

Please complete the application form: 2018 Arnhem reimbursement application  together with a copy of travel documents e.g. ferry or hotel booking. which should be returned to:

Robert Airey
RHQ PARA
Merville Barracks
Colchester
Essex
CO2 7UT

For all enquiries please contact: robert.airey100@mod.gov.uk

The Airborne Forces Security Fund is again making a grant available to veterans of the Battle of Normandy to assist with the cost of their commemorative trip this June. The grant is £680 for a veteran, £680 for his wife or partner and £680 if a carer is needed. The maximum grant is therefore £2,040.

Please complete the application form: 2018 Normandy reimbursement application,  together with a copy of travel documents e.g. ferry or hotel booking, which should be returned to:

Robert Airey
RHQ PARA
Merville Barracks
Colchester
Essex
CO2 7UT

For all enquiries please contact: robert.airey100@mod.gov.uk