Schoolfriends of Shropshire soldier taking on big bike ride in his memory
Two school friends of a heroic Shropshire soldier killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan have organised a charity bike ride to raise money for his baby son.
Royal Marines Captain Eddie Porter and Met Police Constable Chris Bramley went to the Old Swinford Hospital School in Stourbridge with Rupert Bowers, of Moreton Corbet, near Shawbury, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand in 2011.
About 200 people attended his military funeral at the village St church, with mourners including his local MP, Owen Paterson and the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Algernon Heber-Percy.
Captain Porter and Constable Bramley are preparing to take part in a 500km (310 mile) bike ride to support Captain Bowers' widow, Vicky, and their son, Hugo, born a few weeks before his father's death.
They will also raise money for Winston's Wish, a charity supporting bereaved children.
It will be a particular challenge for Captain Porter, who was shot in Afghanistan 18 months ago and has only just learned to walk again.
He said: "Rupert was a fantastic friend and role model. He died a true British hero. It is this lasting memory of him from which we will draw the strength to ride for his son and Winston's Wish."
The pair will ride from the school to The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey, back to Lichfield, Captain Bowers' Regimental HQ and back to the school from March 19 to 23.
To sponsor the trust fund for Hugo, send a cheque payable to Old Swinford Hospital to: Help for Hugo, c/o Mr Peter Jones, Headmaster, Old Swinford Hospital, Heath Lane, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 1QX.
To donate visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/eddieporter
