A DALE falconer is getting ready to set off on a mammoth 100 kilometre hike in France and Belgium to raise funds for a national soldier’s charity -“and she’s taking a stuffed falcon with her.
Tori Goodall, who runs Walworth Castle Birds of Prey with her husband David Toms, is setting off for continental Europe next month to take part in The Frontline Walk, which follows a route along the most iconic battlefields and cemeteries of the First World War.
And she will be doing it while carrying a stuffed falcon to raise funds for the Army Benevolent Fund, a national charity which supports soldiers, veterans and their families when they need it most.
Ms Goodall along with six friends – Christopher Green, John Cavana, Richard Walton and Shane Robinson – form the Country Sports Pride and Passion team. They are representing those from rural areas who laid down their lives during the conflict.
To highlight this they will complete the entire 100 kilometre walk in full kit including full tweed gamekeeping get up. Ms Goodall will don her falconry britches and will carry a falcon to represent the hundreds of peregrines which were shot during the Second World War.
The cheerful fundraiser said: “I try to do something for charity every year. Last year I canoed 90 miles on the Oxford canal to raise money for the Stroke Association after my dad had a stroke. This year my friend John persuaded me to do the Frontline Walk.
“I know it’s going to be hard and there are going to be a lot of tears, especially this year. It will be a physically and emotionally tough challenge as we following the footsteps of those who fought 100 years ago.”
The team have already raised more than £7,500 but are hoping to raise a good deal more and the day before they start the epic hike they will be getting on board “Boris Bikes” in London, in their full regalia to try to drum up last-minute donations.
The walk, which will take three days, starts in northern France from the Lochnager Crater, which was formed after a massive shell detonated beneath the German front line at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, and finishes at the Menin Gate near Ypres, in Belgium.
Anyone who would like to show their support can
still donate online at http://fundraising.soldierscharity.org/Wcbop.co.uks
