Sons raise cash in Major's memory (From This is Hampshire)

Sons raise cash in Major's memory

8:58am Thursday 6th March 2008 in News

THE sons of a South Wonston army Major killed in Iraq have raised more than £2,000 in his memory.

Major Paul Harding died in June last year when a Basra communication centre came under attack from insurgents.

The 48-year-old, who commanded a company in the 4th Battalion, The Rifles, had been set to compete in the "Tough Guy" competition with his 17-year-old son, Jake, having previously completed the challenge with his wife, Paula.

After his father's tragic death, the teenager was adamant he would complete the challenge and he persuaded his brother, Christopher, 21, to take Maj Harding's place.

He told his older sibling: "You'll be running for dad, let's do it for him."

The pair completed the challenge - a 10-mile cross-country run and assault course dubbed by organisers as "one of the hardest events the body can take" - in two hours, 22 minutes, raising £2,200. Jake presented half the money to the Rifles Benevolent Fund at a special ceremony at Peninsula Barracks, Winchester, yesterday (March 5). The rest will go to the charity which hosts the challenge.

Jake, 17, who goes to Peter Symonds College, said: "I just wanted to raise awareness of the Rifles Benevolent Fund, which provides support for injured soldiers."

He said he had trained for the event by doing lots of running, crawling through puddles and sticking to a strict regime drawn up by a fitness instructor at Norton Manor, Sutton Scotney.

He added: "I was really excited, the adrenaline was going.

"At one point I got stuck in some really deep mud and had cramp in both legs but I got some more adrenaline towards the end. I did hit the wall but I smashed through it!"

The teenager plans to do the challenge again in the summer.