Veterans in car rally enjoy a warm finale
ACONVOY of creaky old bangers saved from the scrapheap by the spirit of adventure rolled into Runcorn as teams completed a massive motoring challenge in aid of armed forces charities.
The Veterans Banger Rally saw about 50 groups of mainly former service personnel reached the Halton Royal British Legion on Castle Road after taking in the epic course of around 1,700 miles, setting off four days earlier from the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Tuesday, September 7, and taking in Llandudno, Torquay, Skegness, Newcastle and Blackpool.
They were also treated to a police escort for part of the final leg of the trip from Lymm services.
Only three vehicles didn’t make it the full distance and had to be withdrawn from the contest.
One of those, a “Tom Moore taxi”, has been bought by a museum in St Helens with the proceeds donated to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, The Captain Tom Foundation, and the Royal British Legion.
The winning banger was Team 4, a Robin Reliant styled after the Thunderbird 4 submarine.
All competition vehicles had to cost no more than £500 and points were awarded for specific achievements such as stopping for a picture at famous landmarks.
One group even took the opportunity for a detour and headed to Land’s End while a team member was having dialysis in hospital, with their total mileage reaching 1,740 miles.
The event is expected to return next year when hopes are high it will set off from Gibraltar, which would have been this year’s departure point were plans not scuppered by the pandemic.
Kevin Walsh, of Halton Veterans
Legion, which helped to organise the welcome in Runcorn, said: “It went fantastic.
“The feedback that we’ve got is it was the best British Legion they’ve been to.
“They couldn’t get over the hospitality,’’ Kevin added.
“They’re doing it again next year from Gibraltar.
“There were 50-plus teams.
“Three vehicles limped home, they didn’t make it.
“The Tom Moore taxi is being bought by a museum in St Helens and the money’s going to SSAFA, the Royal British Legion and the Tom Moore foundation.”
Veterans Banger Rally is the brainchild of John McGowan, former Royal Navy, who established the event to provide a fun outlet for former armed forces personnel to rekindle some of the camaraderie of their former careers.