Channel swimming facts

• The sport origins trace back to the early 19th Century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed swim from England to France in 21 hours and 45 minutes.

• Over 4800 people have reached the peak of Mount Everest. Only 1900 people have successfully swum the English Channel.

• Average time to complete: 13 – 14 hours.

• Fastest Solo swimmer 7 hours and 17 minutes (freestyle)

• Longest solo swim was 28 hours, 44 minutes (freestyle)

Why am I swimming the English Channel?

Every year 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health issue and in Defence as a whole it remains the primary cause of sickness absence.
Everyday pressures in our work and personal lives contribute to our general state of wellbeing and our fitness to work. Debt, bereavement, workloads, relationships and caring responsibilities are just some of the issues in and out of the workplace which have
the potential to impact our wellbeing and our ability to do our jobs well.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma still attached to mental health illness and although the NHS and Defence Medical Services mental healthcare services are of a high standard and relatively easily accessed, many choose not to seek help. This may be due to the effects of stigma, either due to the personal meaning attached to help-seeking, or due to a wider concern about career progression and/or involvement of medical professionals.

Closer to home and something that I also did not share with others was my own battle last year. Despair set in that I was unable to vocalise due to the breakdown of my marriage and being forced to leave the family home and my young children behind. I was also assigned far away from all my friends and family (like many others) and therefore those around me would not have been able to tell that my behaviour was anything other than normal. Over time this situation got worse and it wasn’t until a visit to my own Unit in Tidworth that it was revealed by a good friend Maj Nige Mudd who was also The Welfare Officer. During a chat he noticed a thread of difference in my personality and behaviour and he pulled it. This was the moment I released all the thoughts in my head and the pressures in my life. Subsequently I received invaluable support from the Army Welfare Service.

My Channel swim is to raise Mental Health Awareness to encourage early intervention and to prevent individuals thinking there is no way forward in life. It was only before my assignment to London District a Gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery tragically took his own life. 

All donations will go Royal Artillery Charitable Fund RACF specifically to support Gunners who are dealing with mental health illness. 

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