Biggleswade man’s Screwball Rally for forces charity comes to poignant finish at Menin Gate

An adventurous Biggleswade man completed a five-day road trip across Europe, as he revved up support for veterans in need.
By Jo Gravett
Published 2nd Oct 2019, 18:37 BST
The car at Tyne Cot Cemetery. All donations will go to Mission Motorspot.The car at Tyne Cot Cemetery. All donations will go to Mission Motorspot.
The car at Tyne Cot Cemetery. All donations will go to Mission Motorspot.

Train driver Gadge Grocott, 50, along with former Army member, Graham Pittaway, 54, took on the Screwball Rally, which requires participants to fix up an old banger – in their case a rusty Mazda MX5 MK1, 1.8si – and drive it across Europe.

Gadge and Graham raised £1,000 for forces’ charity Mission Motorsport, as well as making special memories.

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Gadge, a former member of the Royal Navy, said: “It went really, really well. We finished on Monday [September 23] by having the car photographed at the Menin Gate, and we went down to see the grave of a British man named Noel Godfrey Chavasse, who was awarded the Victoria Cross twice. He was an army medic who crawled into no man’s land to bring soldiers back, and he died of his wounds.

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The grave of Noel Godfrey Chavasse.The grave of Noel Godfrey Chavasse.
The grave of Noel Godfrey Chavasse.

“We’d visited the French wine regions and had a lot of fun, but this seemed a fitting way to finish.”

Mission Motorsport supports injured and sick serving and veteran soldiers by offering sports, training, and other opportunities in the motor industry.

Soldiers involved with the charity put stickers on the Mazda, and Gadge is planning a rally for the charity along the Western Front.

To donate, search: ‘Mission Motorsport Screwball Rally 2019’ on the website GoFundMe.

Related topics:BiggleswadeEurope