After 23 years in the Royal Navy, most people retire with a card, a cake and a few warm words in the mess. Dafydd Ruston – known to everyone as Dave – marked the occasion slightly differently. He rode a 40-year-old 50cc moped 550 miles across the South West and Wales at a maximum speed of 30mph.
Three days. No motorways. A bike that was old enough to have served alongside him.
The route took Dave from his home in Bournemouth up to his childhood home in West Wales, then back down to Portsmouth – the Royal Navy's spiritual front door. En route, he stopped at the Salisbury headquarters of Alabaré, a homelessness charity with a dedicated Homes for Veterans service, where colleagues formed a guard of honour to meet him.
The challenge wasn't spontaneous. Dave had watched the charity support a friend and former colleague who'd ended up in their supported living accommodation in Plymouth. Seeing what that practical, consistent help actually looked like – and what it led to – was enough.
"I'm really pleased to have been able to do something in support of Alabaré," he said. "I've seen just how amazing their work is in supporting veterans who need help at a troubled time."
The numbers back him up. Across the charity's 90 veteran bedspaces in the South West and Wales, more than half of residents moved into independent living last financial year, with over a third reporting an improvement in their physical health.
The fundraiser – titled The Moped and the Matelot – has raised over £600, with the JustGiving page still open.
