Legion fundraiser appears on Fourth Plinth
27 July 2009
Keith Davis, from Tewkesbury, appeared on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square today as part of the One & Other project by Antony Gorman.
Keith was appointed 'Deputy Town Crier' by Tewkesbury Town Council for 1 hour only!! The museum lent him the uniform and he read poems about the town to raise it's national and international profile.
Keith participated in the Legion's Freedom Trail this year and for the final 15 minutes of his "performance", he read a piece to promote the Legion and the Freedom Trail trek and to raise awareness of what World War II soldiers went through in order to escape the Nazis.
Here's an extract from Keith's description of his Freedom Trail adventure:
The Freedom Trail is a 4-day hike commemorating the guides, couriers and safe-house keepers who kept open the escape route from France into Spain during WWII for those fleeing the Nazi occupation and also Allied airmen who had been shot down. Approximately 2500 used this route. The escapees included French, Dutch, and Belgium nationals along with Jews and of course British, Canadian and Americans.
This year James, my son-in-law, and I joined The Royal British Legion party of 9 hikers and were part of an additional group of 14. Some had attempted it last year but were pulled off the mountains before finishing due to terrible weather. There was also a small group of Dutchmen and on the final 2 days an additional group of 29 local Frenchmen.
My objectives were to raise funds for the Legion, expose myself to some of the experiences that the escapees had endured and of course enjoy the company of James. Preparation and training was critical, I walked many miles with a full 35lb on my back during the weeks running up to the start day. Selection of high energy food, the purchase and borrowing of many items to keep me warm, cool, awake, asleep etc with a single objective to keep the weight down. Fortunately I established at an early stage that James was the proud owner of a two-man tent along with the necessary cooking kit. So he agreed to carry them!
Our fellow hikers were a great group of people with a single bond, to get to Spain. John Howie an ex-HAC and full time mountaineer led us, a charming, hard but realistic man who had huge experience in the area. His summary of our achievement was we had done the equivalent of 2 marathons in 4 days over mountains with 35lb on our backs. The demands of this took its toll with 3 people dropping out.
However there were several amazing participants, including Dennis, 71 years young. When he was 7 he fell off a bus, suffered very serious head injuries, was in a coma for 7 days and in intensive care for a further 14 days. The result was that he was not able to read or write and was declared backward. He married and his wife then taught him to read and write. He then went into the building trade, was very successful and is still helping people. His kit for the hike must have weighed 40/45lb and included gaiters that he used when he was doing national service. He started and finished the hike with a huge smile on his face. An inspiration to everyone.
The local French really appreciate the efforts made by the hikers and at 4 locations had short wreath laying ceremonies, all very poignant. Particularly one outside the mountain hut where the Germans tracked down a guide who had been betrayed. They set fire to the hut, he ran and was shot dead. A relative of his provided a very welcome buffet lunch after the ceremony.
Reflecting on the moments that really hurt - climbing up a snow field feeling totally exhausted, clinging to ropes that saved you from a 500ft drop, stubbing your badly bruised toes on an unseen rock, clambering over massive boulders, slipping down steep scree with your toes banging constantly on the front of the boot.
But Dennis made it and so did we all - an amazing experience! Just consider what it must have been like in a real situation. Having got across, the British and Americans were handed to their consulates, the majority of the others were handed back to the Germans by that man Franco.
If you're interested in supporting Keith's fundraising effort, visit his page on BmyCharity.
For information about participating in the next Freedom Trail, contact Claire O'Dowd,
Events Assistant, The Royal British Legion
Tel: 02 3207 2268
email: co'dowd@britishlegion.org.uk
