Mansfield Town

Jay has been in the military for 10 years as part of the First Battalion Grandier Guards. His service included two tours of Afghanistan. In 2012, he suffered serious injuries that ultimately saw him have to leave the forces.

During his rehabilitation he spent time at Headley Court and was amazed at the work they did to put the broken bodies and minds of wounded soldiers back together again: “I saw some of the fantastic work that Headley Court are doing for people injured physically and mentally and their families. The support network has been absolutely fantastic,” Jay said.  

Headley Court provided Jay with his bike so that he could maintain a premium level of fitness and also added hand controls to his motor vehicle which assist with his mobility.

Jay is now looking to raise funds for the Help For Heroes charity by participating in their signature fundraising challenge. The week-long event will see Jay and his fellow riders meet in London before travelling by train to Paris where their cycle ride will commence. The ride will conclude back in London a week later. 

The group of riders will complete a distance of 47 miles per day and will visit various battlefield tour sites during their journey including the Normandy D-Day beaches as they learn about the experiences of military personnel during World War II.

Jay commented: “My main motivation is to promote the fantastic work that not only Help For Heroes itself does but also the supporting charities that a lot of people aren’t aware of including the work they did for me personally helping me adapt to my disability. They were instrumental in me getting to where I am today.

“I wanted to put back as much as possible that has been used on myself so it can be used on someone else and try to promote the fantastic work that these organisations actually do,” he added.

Member of Parliament for Mansfield Sir Alan Meale believes it is important to recognise people such as Jay in the local community: “It is important to remind the community of the price that these people paid on our behalf. People are doing this every single day in our name. It is also important for the individuals themselves to show that they can play a full part in our society again.

“It reminds us of the price paid by members of the community and shows that we as a community do not stand idly by,” he added.

Mansfield Town Football Club commercial manager Paul Nyland is pleased that Jay’s local club is able to help generate support and awareness for this positive initiative: “As a club we recognise the position that we hold in the local community and value the opportunity to promote awareness of activities such as this. It is an important part of what we do as a football club and we wish Jay every success as he completes the Big Battlefield Bike Ride.”