'It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done'; Yompers return to Whale Island raising £10,000 for mental health charities

A SIX-STRONG team of British service personnel have returned to Whale Island after 40 gruelling days walking almost 4,000 miles and raising over £10,000 for Armed Forces’ mental health.
By Elsa Waterfield
Published 17th Nov 2022, 10:46 BST
Updated 17th Nov 2022, 10:47 BST
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On Thursday 10 November, six former and serving front-line personnel returned to HMS Excellent on Whale Island after a colossal undertaking, completing 3,863-mile trek across Britain in just 40 days, just in time for Remembrance Day.

Aiming to increase awareness for the importance of Armed Forces’ mental health, the team raised £10,445 for eight military and emergency service charities, including FirstLight Trust – a Gosport charity supporting veterans of the armed forces and emergency services and their families.

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As if the challenge – coined the ‘Yompathon’ – wasn’t enough, the group of six also carried a 25kg bergen, to represent the ‘invisible’ mental burden carried by many.

The Yompathon is a 3863 mile march across the United Kingdom visiting over two hundred Military and emergency service establishments. The former and serving British Service personnel from across the seven branches of the services complete their journey at Whale Island, Portsmouth on Thursday 10th November 2022 Pictured: Former and serving British Service personnel at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth Picture: Habibur RahmanThe Yompathon is a 3863 mile march across the United Kingdom visiting over two hundred Military and emergency service establishments. The former and serving British Service personnel from across the seven branches of the services complete their journey at Whale Island, Portsmouth on Thursday 10th November 2022 Pictured: Former and serving British Service personnel at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth Picture: Habibur Rahman
The Yompathon is a 3863 mile march across the United Kingdom visiting over two hundred Military and emergency service establishments. The former and serving British Service personnel from across the seven branches of the services complete their journey at Whale Island, Portsmouth on Thursday 10th November 2022 Pictured: Former and serving British Service personnel at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth Picture: Habibur Rahman

Founded by team leader, James Mazzoni-Dalton, the Yompathon team come from all over the UK, representing the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force as well as the police, ambulance and fire services.

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Fellow yomper PC Adam Benfield said: ‘It’s seemed liked a very long journey to start with but as we got into it, it just flew by. We were counting down the days, when we got to ten days, we knew we had 30 days to go and it seemed like a lot but before we knew it we had 5 days left. It’s been an experience, I’ve learned a lot about people, about my country, about myself and how to get on with people.’

The group, who set out on September 30 from Gosport, lost a member of the team early on and were hit with obstacles along the route such as injuries and harsh weather.

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James added: ‘It was the blisters, the shin splints and bruised heels. It was difficult to manage, but we did it. We completed what many thought unachievable. Overall it was a big success, we raised over £10,000 and the donations are still going up. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It was the teamwork, trying to motivate, living in close proximity to each other. We had our fallings out, smiles and cries, when fatigue sets in and you take away sleep, make people cold, tired, wet, hungry, it’s to be expected.

To donate to the cause see justgiving.com/campaign/the-yompathon

Related topics:Armed ForcesHMS