88-year-old veteran's charity walking challenge for the RNLI

The 88-year-old will start at Bridlington RNLI Lifeboat Station at 10am on Thursday 24 September, where he is due to be waved off by RNLI mascot Stormy Stan and the mayor of Bridlington. From there the veteran paratrooper will walk nearly 20 miles along the coast to Filey. Jeffrey will also call at the lifeboat station on South Landing in Flamborough for some well-earned lunch and to meet some of the volunteer crew members there.

Jeffrey’s walk from Bridlington to Filey is the first of four that he is undertaking to help raise money for the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea. The RNLI has over 238 lifeboat stations across Britain that provide 24/7 assistance to those in need on the water and 95% of the people that serve those stations are volunteers. The charity also ensures that lifeguards are stationed on some of Britain’s busiest beaches, as well as offering youth education services and water safety information.

Jeffrey told us that he’s looking forward to raising funds for the charity: ‘I'm going to walk as many miles as I can, to keep the lifeboats afloat and the crews saving lives at sea.’

Jeffrey is no stranger to challenging walks and has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for various charities since undertaking his first walking challenge at the spritely age of 75. This consisted of a hike from London to Lausanne in Switzerland, all the while carrying a 30kg pack. The walk from Bridlington to Filey is one of a number of walks that the veteran paratrooper aims to complete in 2020, including one from Linton-on-Ouse to York on behalf of the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Fundraising Chair Bob Taylor of Bridlington RNLI explains how Jeffrey’s walk comes at a welcome time for the station: ‘We’re hugely grateful to Jeffrey for choosing the RNLI as his charity on this walk and we can’t wait to welcome him to Bridlington. We’ve not been able to put on all of the fundraising events that we’d hoped for in the past few months so we hope that Jeffrey’s challenge will encourage people to donate so we can continue to provide our lifesaving work.’

Anyone wishing to donate to Jeffrey’s walk between Bridlington and Filey can visit http://virginmoneygiving.com/JeffreyLongMBE2 and updates will be posted on various RNLI social media outlets on the day of the walk.

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For more information please contact William Gray, RNLI Volunteer Press Officer: [email protected] Alternatively, call the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789 or email [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.

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