President Jean and other members of the Club accompanied North Downs Walk lead, Chas Bedford, to the 1404 Chatham Squadron Air Training Corps dinner on Saturday.
During the proceedings Chas announced that the Clive Smith Individual Trophy for sponsorship raised, which had been won most years by the late Squadron Chairman, Keith Simmons, was to be presented, in perpetuity, to Keith’s family in his memory.
In Keith’s honour, we have commissioned a new Forces trophy, named the Keith Simmons Team Challenge Shield, for the forces or cadet team raising the most sponsorship. The existing shield is now retired and Chas presented it, in perpetuity, to Squadron OC, Flt Lt Brad Sherwood to be held by 1404 Sqn in memory of Keith, who had contributed to the Squadron winning the trophy in all but one of the years 2000-2023.
The shield has been won this year by 354 Dover Sqn, but Brad accepted the challenge to win it back in 2025.
Weald of Kent Rotary have been running the North Downs Walk since 1985, missing only 2020 due to lockdowns. The choice of four routes, 1 mile, 3 mile, 6 mile and 9 mile, attracts a full range of ages and abilities of walkers, including Guides, Air Cadets, keen hikers and some family teams. 50% of funds raised by participants is donated to the Club’s nominated charity , Cancer Research UK, the remainder to a charity of the walker’s choice.
The 2024 Walk raised £ 24,000 for charities, of which nearly £17,000 is for Cancer Research UK.
In 2025, the Club’s 50th year the Walk, the 40th, is taking place on 8th June 2025. More information can be found on the North Downs Walk page.