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https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/100-year-old-walks-around-garden-40000-times-to-raise-money-for-charity/
A 100-year-old Second World War veteran has walked hundreds of miles around his garden to raise money for charity—but no, you didn’t stumble upon a four-year-old news story,
Lance Corporal Harold Jones laps his back garden 30 times every day no matter the weather, and has been doing so since 2020, as he was inspired by the worldwide media sensation of the late Captain Tom, who announced on social media he was doing the same thing in the early days of the pandemic in 2020.
Corporal Jones is a great-grandfather-of-six, and he started walking circuits around his bungalow during lockdown like Captain Tom, and has so far taken his walker a total of 661 miles, equating to 41,550 laps around his garden, or about the same distance as his home in Birmingham to the border of Germany.
“I always refer to myself as Lance Corporal Harold. Captain Tom was a captain so I thought I’d go to the other end of the spectrum,” said the centenarian, referring to the military hierarchy. “One other reason I started was to keep fit and keep moving. With Covid we had to stay in and all sorts of things.”
“I saw it was what Captain Tom had done to raise money. I had lost three friends with Motor Neurone Disease and I thought I’d do the same,” he said.
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As the anniversary of Captain Tom’s death approaches in two weeks’ time, Jones is still racking up the steps in honor of the Captain who touched the hearts of the nation.
The spritely pensioner reckons the secret to his long-lasting fitness is down to his time in the Armed Forces setting him up with a “high level of endurance.”
Harold, who served in the British Army from 1942 until 1947, was stationed first in India and then in Burma during WW2 as a non-combat office worker. He began fundraising for the MND Association and has since raised over £43,000 in just under four years.
“It has become a daily routine ever since. I [first] set out to try and get to £1,000,” he explained. “I didn’t know how people would respond. I reached a grand in a year. When I reached £10,000 a friend doubled it.”
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“It’s the walking that keeps me fit. I previously broke my back in three places but my ankles, knee joints, and hips are perfect. I walk in the morning after breakfast in whatever weather, You have to have the determination to get up and go,” said Harold. “That’s so important.”
He has since been awarded a Points of Light award by the Prime Minister for his valiant efforts after the MND Association put his name forward.
WATCH the Lance Corporal Go go go…
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