A 21-strong group of RM Condor WAGAMADS the wives, girlfriends, mums and dads of serving Royal Marines were joined by four members of the unit for an ascent of Ben Nevis in aid of the Royal Marines Benevolent Fund.
The trek was organised by Tracy Gibson, whose son Andy was one of the four “boot necks” who took part at the weekend and whose ex-commando husband, also Andy, was roped in.
It was a positive way of commemorating the sacrifice made by Andy jnr’s comrade and best friend Jamie Fellows, who was one of the 12 members of 45 Commando Group who died during the unit’s last operational tour in Afghanistan.
Tracy said, “My son and three of his fellow serving Royal Marines that’s Gibbo, Mikey, Cal and Tommo to their mates came along to provide encouragement and carry all the heavy stuff.
“They are all obviously pretty fit so climbing Ben Nevis, even loaded down with all the emergency gear and tents in case we had to stay out overnight, was a bit of a walk in the park for them.
“That is more than can be said for some of the rest of the party, who had to be encouraged, cajoled and persuaded to keep going and not fall too far behind.
“Without them we would have lost a few along the way for sure, so it was fab.
“The lads were just great and Cal became a bit of a celebrity at the summit when a couple of the charity groups tried to poach him off us to be their Mr Motivator!
“All in all it was a brilliant day and everyone really enjoyed the experience.”
Tracy aims to raise £500 for the fund, with anything over that going to the TNT netball team.
Her charity page at www.justgiving.com/Tracy-Gibson will remain open for a few more days for anyone wanting to contribute.