Canoe race in memory of Newbury firefighter

Newbury man will paddle 125-miles to raise charity funds

A NEWBURY man will be paddling 125 miles in an international canoe race in memory of his father who died in 2014 after battling Alzheimer’s.

Chris Bishop, who grew up in Newbury and now lives in Henley, decided to compete in the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race in memory of his dad Derek (pictured), who served as a Newbury firefighter for 25 years.

Chris will be raising funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s Research UK, after witnessing his father’s seven-year battle with the condition before he died in November 2014.

The gruelling challenge, which will be held over the Easter weekend, will see Chris, along with teammate Chris Preston, paddle their way from Devizes, Wiltshire, along the Kennet and Avon Canal and River Thames to Westminster.

Chris said: “We want to raise awareness of this devastating, cruel condition that touches so many of us, as well as raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK whose objective is to discover new ways to prevent, treat and cure dementia.

“We have set ourselves a target of £100,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK as they rely totally on donations for their research.”

The event is the world’s longest non-stop canoe race and will see the pair paddle through Pewsey, Hungerford, Newbury and Reading and on to London.

To complete the challenge the team, dubbed ‘Forget Me Not’, will need to negotiate the 125 miles and 72 locks, in less than 28 hours – a tough ask as Chris admits he has not been in a canoe since 1976.

He said: “The training is tough as I hadn’t actually set foot in a canoe since I was in the Scouts.

“Chris (Preston) has been training me hard, though, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to do the race with him and I’m confident we’ll make it.”

The race will take place on Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27.

For more information and to sponsor the team ‘Forget Me Not’ visit www.forgetmenot.events