UK & Ireland exclusive: Chapter News (April 2019)

ALL THE LATEST H.O.G. CHAPTER NEWS FROM THE UK & IRELAND

Dunedin to Walk To The Wall

You’ve all heard of Ride To The Wall (RTTW), where bikers from all over Europe converge on the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) – Britain’s national site of remembrance near Lichfield, Staffordshire – on the first Saturday of October each year.

This year, on Monday, September 30, a group of intrepid Chapter members from the Dunedin Chapter will set off from the Edinburgh H-D dealership on a kilt walk to the NMA. They will walk in relays on a journey that should see them arrive the following Thursday – two days ahead of the RTTW. 

George McGuire, Rally Coordinator for the Chapter’s annual Thunder In The Glens event, said: “The NMA is a spiritually uplifting place, which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice, and fosters pride in the British armed forces and civilian community.

“More than 10,000 motorcyclists ride from throughout the UK and Ireland and from across Europe to take part in the Ride To The Wall to pay their respects and raise funds that go directly towards the upkeep of the NMA.

“RTTW was formed in 2008 by a small group of volunteers who shared the same values, and has grown year on year and beyond any expectation.

“As the numbers of supporters and attendees increased significantly every year and the size and scale of the organisation grew considerably, the requirement for additional volunteers also grew and was met by an ever-increasing number of volunteers now totaling almost 300, who give up their time.

“Through their commitment, dedication and hard work they allow the 16,000 names carved on the Armed Forces Memorial to live on in our memory. Since its inception almost £900,000 has been raised by the RTTW committee and its supporters.”

There will be plenty of stops along the way and their beloved Harley-Davidson® motorcycles will be shipped ahead on trucks. George adds: “We are also planning to visit some military places and some people of interest on the way, thereby hopefully attracting more publicity and support on route.”

To find out more about Ride To The Wall visit www.rttw.org

 

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The small Chapter with the big heart
III Rivers Chapter is one of the smallest Chapters in the UK , if not the world.

This small group of friends, lovers of all things Harley-Davidson, punch well above their weight when it comes to fundraising for charity.

The club currently support two charities; The Essex and Herts Air Ambulance and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Both charities are very dear in the hearts and minds of the Chapter with the Air Ambulance team saving the life of one of their members several years ago. And with losing a Chapter member and family members to cancer it really makes the effort worthwhile.

In 2017 £1,500 was raised for the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust and in 2018 a total of £2,019 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The first £1,000  was raised through the club supporting a staff open day at KIEHL’S in London. Twelve Harleys attended the line-up and thoroughly impressed all who attended .

The remaining funds were raised through the club conducting coffee mornings, a monthly raffle, a chilli cooking competition, and one of the Ladies of Harley, Trudie, charging a small fee to sew patches on to Chapter members cuts.

This fundraising  produced a further £1,019 with the cheque being presented to Dave Simpson, the local Macmillan representative at the Chapter AGM in March.

Looking forward, the Chapter continues to support The Essex and Herts  Air Ambulance and they are now pivotal in the organising and marshalling of their yearly charity bike ride. This involves the whole Chapter setting out the route and providing marshals for every waypoint en route. 

Pictured is the presentation of the cheque to Dave Simpson from Macmillan.

 

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Lakeside Chapter 2018 Charity donation

In 2018 Lakeside Chapter were active and busy raising money for the Aaron Lewis Foundation, a local Essex charity. This was done by events being held at our monthly ‘Natter Night’. Our lovely LOH’s made fresh baked goods and these were sold throughout the year adding to our total. A local company donated an air conditioning unit, which was raffled off and another couple of local companies made monetary donations helping swell our total to a grand total of £2,122.37.

The Aaron Lewis Foundation is an all-volunteer charity set up in memory of Lieutenant Aaron Lewis and is committed to transforming lives through sport and community action in the local area and nationally for service and ex-service personnel. The money raised by supporters helps people in our local community here in Essex and veterans from across the country, and also during 2018, veterans recovering at the Colchester Garrison Recovery centre, which is a project that The ALF have pledged to continue to support in 2019. www.aaronlewisfoundation.org.uk

As well as this we supported the local Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital with our Annual Easter Egg and Toy Run with more than £1,000 of toys being donated by Lakeside members.

Malcolm Seedhouse
Lakeside Chapter