Mark’s epic walk
Over £1,000 raised in walk which started in the early hours
A MAN from Burbage has raised more than £1,000 after completing a 46 mile walk across Hinckley and the borough in just 18 hours.
Wanting to go that extra mile, 56-year-old Mark Ward decided that he would walk 100,000 steps on Armistice Day to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War and to honour his late father, Bert Ward.
Born in Hinckley in 1899, Private Bert Ward of Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was there on the day of November 11 1918 marking the end to what is now known as The Great War and even wrote a book of his life as a young soldier.
“This year is such a big year for Remembrance, it is so relevant and important for so many people,” said Mark.
“I thought about doing something like a sponsored walk and then I saw on the internet that you could walk 100,000 steps in a day and so I decided that this year, that would be the way I would remember my dad and his legacy.
“My dad always wore a poppy and he was so proud to have experienced the war and as the Royal British Legion are so heavily associated with this, all of the money raised will be going to the charity.”
After his father passed aged 86 in 1986, on this poignant year Mark wanted to give back to the man who he says that without him, he would not be where he is today.
“I’ll always remember his story on the day of 1918 when the war ended, dad was sent for a smoke and he wanted one last piece of memorabilia, while looking he came across a German soldier who was dead and wrote of how that was the last memory he had, and that just hit me really.
“That was the reality of the war, you fought until the last second,” adds Mark.
After discussing his plans to take on the mammoth walk with family, Mark admits that they initially thought he was crazy. However people soon warmed to the idea after learning the link between his dad and the historic event and just how much it meant to him, so much so that Mark says some people even cried upon hearing about it.
Mark started his journey in Burbage at 2.30am on the morning of Remembrance Day, he was joined by family and friends along the way who all helped to motivate and encourage him and when the going got tough, remind him of why he embarked on the challenge in the first place.
“The first 50 to 60,000 steps were genuinely enjoyable,” Mark recalls. “My son-in-law came out to help me, as well as my nephew and people were stopping on the way to donate and put money into the Royal British Legion tin I was carrying.
“I had some friends join me as I got to Bosworth Battlefield and then my wife, Paula, helped me during the last five thousand steps, it was getting dark and I was obviously getting tired.
“I couldn’t have done it without Paula, she helped carry me through those last important steps, but this was nothing compared to what all of those soldiers did.”
To remember his father and to acknowledge his war experience, Mark carried small crosses adorned with a poppy and the words ‘In Remembrance of Bert Ward’ on them, leaving one at each memorial he came across on his ep ic journey. From Burbage, Mark walked through Barwell, Sapcote, Stoney Stanton and Burbage Woods before reaching Hinckley at 11am for the town’s Remembrance service. Continuing his journey he then walked to Stoke Golding, Dadlington, Sutton Cheney, Bosworth Battlefield, Market Bosworth and back to Hinckley for the 7pm Lighting of the Beacon Service in the Mead before finishing the last leg of his 46 mile trek back to Burbage where he started.
On his return, Mark was delighted to see his two daughters, Charlotte and Becca, stood waiting for him armed with balloons and banners while they cheered their dad along for the final stretch.
Asked if he would do it again, “Never say never,” said Mark. “I’m just glad that I have my family here to support me through this, if it wasn’t for my dad they wouldn’t be here, so thinking of that made it all worth it.
“My dad would have loved the fact that my family were so interested in this challenge, he was very proud to have played his part in the war and I think he would have been honoured that I have chosen to remember him in this way.”
The first 50,000 to 60,000 steps were genuinely enjoyable. But this was nothing compared to what all those soldiers did