Last month, a team of fundraisers completed a 309km cycle ride retracing the route their relatives were forced to march as prisoners during the Second World War.
The cycle ride took place from Zagan, Poland, the site of Stalag Luft III, to Berlin, and was timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May 2025. The route was completed by the riders across four days.
The team was made up of RAF veterans, friends and relatives of prisoners of war all wanting to share remembrance for the unimaginable hardships endured.
The Long March of prisoners of war, often referred to as the Death March, occurred in the latter stages of the Second World War. As Russian forces advanced from the East, the German High Command hastily evacuated prisoner of war camps, compelling some 80,000 prisoners (and their German guards) to march hundreds of miles under harsh conditions resulting from the worst winter in the region for 50 years. Many perished due to exhaustion, malnutrition, and the brutal cold.
Roger, 63, organised the challenge in memory of his late father Squadron Leader Dick Churchill of 104 Squadron, who was forced to march the gruelling distance from Poland to Berlin, alongside thousands of Allied soldiers.
Roger said: “My father was shot down in his Hampden plane on 2 September 1940 and held as a prisoner of war for the rest of the war. He was initially in Stalag Luft I, then transferred to Stalag Luft III and was involved in many escapes, including the Wooden Horse and The Great Escape.”
Roger continued: “My father was heavily involved in the RAF and subsequently involved with the RAF Benevolent Fund, helping to fundraise and working as a support person in the southwest of England in his later years. It is important to me to support the Fund now, to honour his memory, and raise awareness of the vital work they do assisting members of the RAF Family.”
Dick Churchill died in 2019, aged 99, as the last surviving member of the Great Escape team.
Roger’s fundraising challenge has raised over £10,300 to be split between the groups’ chosen charities: the RAF Benevolent Fund, the Royal Air Force Association, the Royal British Legion, Coventry Cathedral and the Stalag Luft III Museum.
You can donate on their Give Wheel page.
The RAF Benevolent Fund provides financial, emotional, and practical assistance to serving and retired RAF personnel and their families. This includes grants to help with financial difficulty, mental health support, Airplay youth clubs, and more.
