Bike team remembering prisoners of war and guards in VE Day ride.
A Milton Keynes man is preparing for a tough 300 kilometre bike ride from Poland to Germany to remember and raise funds for the dramatic 'Long March'.
In 1945, and nearing the end of World War 2, the German army uplifted thousands of prisoners of war and marched them along their Eastern Front towards Berlin.
Now MK consultant Roger Churchill is going to ride the gruelling route, with a team of supporters, starting on Bank Holiday Monday and ending in Berlin on Thursday 8th May, to coincide with this year’s VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations.
Roger’s father, Squadron Leader Richard ‘Dickie’ Churchill, a survivor of the ‘Great Escape’, was also forced into the Long March. More than 80,000 POWs were made to march ahead of the advancing Russian army. Now Roger wants to experience the same journey while raising money for charities including the Royal Air Forces Association, Royal British Legion, Coventry Cathedral and the Zagan Museum in Poland.
Roger and his friends will lay wreaths in Zagan and Berlin to mark the start and finish of their expedition. They will ride across countryside and through towns and villages to re-enact the Long March route, ending at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin.
“We are retracing as much of the journey as we can,” said Roger. “They were terrible conditions – the German guards were as ill-prepared, under-nourished and poorly-clothed as the POWs they were controlling. Many perished in the freezing conditions over the weeks they were forced to march.
“It’s not just the POWs that we are recognising here, it’s the whole march.”
Roger is hoping to raise £10,000 from his charity ride. The fund has already reached nearly £8,000. You can read more about the event, and donate here: https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/6390/long-march-80th-anniversary-charity-cycle-ride.
