Former squaddies are stilltop of their fitness game

James Gardner, 31, and Jamie Anderson, 34, from Portsmouth, joined a team of their colleagues from construction product distributor SIG to take on the pride of The Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment (PWRR) in a series of physical and mental tasks in the name of fundraising.

James, Jamie and the rest of their colleagues had a trick up their sleeves for their squaddie opposition – the SIG team were all former servicemen.

James served for nine years in the 47th Regiment Royal Artillery and Jamie served for 15 years in the Royal Logistics Corp.

While the day was designed to be a fun test to raise some money for worthy causes as part of construction industry initiative Construction United, the SIG team sprung a surprise by beating their hosts in a series of events.

Taking place in Canterbury, the day saw SIG beat the PWRR in a gruelling seven-hour challenge to raise funds for The Friends of the PWRR and Construction United’s chosen charities, Mind, CRASH and The Prince’s Trust.

SIG’s former military team members completed the challenge, taking part in dismounted close combat training, battle physical training and a football match played in the dark in chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear face masks.

Team SIG won and raised £4,000.

James said: ‘SIG has a proud history of employing former service personnel in a wide range of roles, something that we’re actively encouraging construction sector companies to do.

‘It was great fun to prove that me and the other guys are still as fit as we were, but the main point of the day was to push ourselves in the name of charity and prove to the guys in the PWRR that they can successfully transition into civilian life after serving their country.’

The first Construction United Week saw 134 events held across the UK to support the chosen charities. Go to constructionunited.co.uk for more information.