4X4 Rally raises over £500,000 for Help for Heroes

Some of the younger rally participants lay wreathes in Ypres

Thanks to a donation of £1,000 by John Christiansen, Head of Credit and Risk at Capital on Tap, the award winning HELP for HEROES 4x4 European Rally has reached the incredible milestone of £1/2m raised for the Help for Heroes charity since the inaugural rally of 2010. It has also become the largest independently organised event supporting the Help for Heroes cause

The story is all the more amazing in that the organisers had planned a one off rally in 2010 where they had hoped to raise £20,000; it went on to raise £121,000! The rally was so successful this is now an annual event. The 2011 and 2012 events each raised even more. With the 2013 rally having already raised over £27,500, the event passes the £500,000 figure for the overall amount raised since 2010.

Don't get too many Willys Jeeps on Overdrive, Here is one with 2 Land Rovers at the Pegasus Bridge, Normandy.

Tim Price-Bowen, one of the organisers, said ‘I have nothing but praise for the efforts of the rally crews that have taken part in the rallies and for the Great British public’s generosity in supporting the Help for Heroes charity. £1/2m is a truly awesome sum. We are very proud of what has been achieved and are also truly grateful to our Corporate Partners for their involvement and support’.

Application can now be made to take part in the 2013 event which will take place from 15^{th –} 27th June. The rally will follow the path and tell the story of the 1944/5 Allied Invasion through Europe. The Allied Forces landed in France early on D-Day morning – 6th June 1944. The Help for Heroes 4x4 European Rally 2013 retraces much of that route.

Starting from Littlecote House Hotel, Wiltshire, it will be a 2000+ mile adventure through Europe over 12 days. This non-speed touring assembly of 4x4s will be crewed by serving and ex-military personnel, as well as civilians and families with children. It is part military history tour (including museums, Commonwealth War graves etc) plus some fun activities, part off-road driving and part club-type social, and open to road-legal 4x4 vehicles.

2 Land Rover Discoveries on the startline of the fundraising event

The route includes: Salisbury Plain, two MOD installations, Portsmouth, visits to WWII historical areas in Normandy, the WWI battlefields of the Somme and Ypres., Arnhem in Holland ‘Operation Market Garden’, Bastogne in Belgium ‘Battle of the Bulge’, Alsace region of France for the Maginot Line of WW1, into Germany and Dachau - with its horrors of war. The event will conclude after visiting Hitler's "impenetrable" Eagles’ Nest high in the Alps at Berchtesgaden, Bavaria 12 days later.

We formally acknowledge the support of; The AA, Brittany Ferries, Cambrian Fuel Card Services, Challenger 4x4, Cobham Technical Services Ltd, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Domino’s Pizza, The GGR Group, Harpenden Vans, Jaguar Land Rover, Marshal Military Sales, o2Telefonica, Overfinch, P&O Ferries, Skytag GPS Tracking, Terberg DTS UK Ltd, Warner Leisure Hotels, and seek convey our thanks to numerous others without whom the rally could not have taken place.