As part of the training for the international four-day March in Nijmegen, Holland, to commemorate Operation Market Graden, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wing Team, led by Flight Lieutenant Paul Terry, Officer Commanding 2428 (Hedge End) Sqn, have conducted a 52 Mile Training March on the Isle of Wight. The arduous route that the team took is the old 42 Commando route that circles the island and involves marching over all of the major peaks on the Island, including Ventnor and Brading.

The route was first used by 42 Commando in World War II when they were training for the D-Day Invasions. It is one of the toughest training marches for the Nijmegen team, and pushes them to their limits, and although they were carrying full exercise kit, the team managed to find the Memorial and Museum. The artefacts in the musuem are under constant guard and people must pay to view the extensive and rare memorabilia on display. Despite this, Flt Lt Terry, who is an ex-Royal Marine Commando, managed to get the whole team in for free courtesy of the museum; the museum was half-way through closing but the staff unlocked again to allow the team to see around the museum!

The team are pictured here next to the Memorial after paying their respects. Team member Cadet Vickery said: ' Despite the march being so challenging the team spirit was unbreakable and to see the museum and memorial was inspiring and really made the march seem little in comparison to the efforts of 42 Commando in WWII'. The team were even invited to stay for the annual ceremony the next day, but duty called and the Veterans understood that a job had to be done and the team pushed on to complete the 52 mile march under constant sunshine and good weather.

This weekend the team deploy to RAF Cosford to qualify for Nijmegen upon completion of another 52 miles!