Footsore diver proud of part in gruelling event
It may have left his feet sore, but the only sailor to take part in a gruelling 65-mile run to commemorate D-Day has raised nearly £3,000 for charity.
Chief Petty Officer Ian Fleming, an instructor at the defence diving school in Portsmouth, completed Project 65, which recreated the route of the gliders which took part in the Pegasus Bridge D-Day operation on foot.
The overall project plans to raise more than 500,000 for veterans in the process.
And although the mammoth effort, completed in just two days, has left the 44-year-old limping, CPO Fleming, from Segensworth, near Fareham, is already looking forward to taking part in The Great South Run this October.
He has taken part in the London Marathon dressed as a giant duck for the Meningitis Trust, and last year he completed the Great South Run in full diving gear weighing a whopping 100lbs, but said nothing compared to this run.
He said: 'It was really hard work, and there were times when it felt soul destroying.
'We had been told that the first rest stop would be at 32-and-a-half miles, but it didn't come until 34.
'Your mind is set on having a rest and a sit down, but you can't.
'And getting towards Pompey, because I know the area, I knew exactly how far it was we still had to go as we went past landmarks I recognised.'
The 200 runners set off from Tarrant Rushton Airfield in Dorset on June 4, caught a ferry across to France from Portsmouth, and arrived at Pegasus Bridge in Caen shortly after midnight on June 6 – exactly the same time as the British gliders arrived there in 1944.
'The feeling when we arrived at Pegasus Bridge was amazing.
'I was just hobbling because my feet were in bits, but the reception we got was absolutely fantastic, which makes it all worthwhile.
'There were a few people who dropped out on the way, but as the only guy from the navy, there was no way I was going to do that.
'I met some great people on the way, and had a lot of banter with the army lads.
'So far I've raised about 2,500 but I still have money coming in and I hope to break the 3,000 mark.'
Project 65 is a new charity aiming to raise 500,000, a small part of which will be used to build a memorial to the men who took part in the original operation.
The rest of the money raised will be split between several charities helping the armed forces.
CPO Fleming can still be sponsored at justgiving.com/navydiverproject65
PEGASUS BRIDGE
Pegasus Bridge was built in 1934 to span the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham, in Normandy, France.
Taking the bridge was a major objective of Operation Tonga in the opening minutes of the invasion of Normandy, at 12.16am on June 6, 1944.
A glider-borne unit of the 6th Airborne Division were to land, take it and nearby bridges intact and hold them until relieved.
The successful taking of the bridges played an important role in limiting the effectiveness of a German counter-attack in the days and weeks following the invasion.
Originally known as Bnouville Bridge, it took the name Pegasus Bridge in honour of the operation.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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