EVENTS THE TOMMY 10,000 STEP DUNKIRK CHALLENGE
I could imagine those old soldiers giving you all one of the best thanks you could ever get – a big Tommy thumbs up. NEIL STOREY Award-winning social historian and Tommy Club Founding Patron
As many of you know, this challenge had symbolic significance: the 10,000 steps, over 31 days, totalled 155 miles, which was the distance travelled by our Tommies during the fighting retreat to Dunkirk.
Thank you to all who braved the rain and snow to take part in Tommy 10,000 Step Challenge in January – it kicked our year off to a great start.
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Neil helped us share the experiences of two sergeants who travelled this immense distance, one of whom was Neil’s great uncle, Verdun who was serving with 2nd Battalion, The Norfolk Regiment. Their stories come straight from the men’s war diaries and along the way we heard from each of their families.
The challenge gave us an opportunity to collaborate with Tommy Club Founding Patron and social historian, Neil Storey.
TOM M Y C LU B NEWS I SPRING 2021
We also featured other heroes, demonstrating not only the courage of the time, but also showcasing the very best of humanity. Dunkirk is an example of the strength and courage humans can possess when called upon to do so, and shows what we can achieve when we work together in the face of adversity.
Neil Storey said of his great uncle and the other men, “Verdun and indeed all the veterans I knew very seldom if ever spoke about their experiences in the teeth of battle, but they would often reminisce about the comradeship in their battalion and how they helped each other get through, often with a bit of humour. I believe I saw some of that special shared humour and support during the challenge in the messages and stories in our group and the money raised has been absolutely brilliant. I think it is something you can all be very proud of.”
