RAF man to honour Dambusters on Sandringham ride

An aircraft engineer who spent 30 years with the RAF will honour 617 Squadron, “The Dambusters” by taking part in Cycle Together Sandringham next weekend.

Bob Tavener, pictured right, will be raising money for Leonard Cheshire Disability by taking on the 150 mile route from the Park House Hotel next Sunday, July 15.

Riding in RAF colours and wearing The Dambusters’ number 617, Bob is marking both his time in the squadron, which will fly the new Lightning jets from RAF Marham and 75 years since its formation.

Bob has strong links with RAF Marham, where he will soon finish a long stint of service, and a year at 617 squadron in Lossiemouth, where he first came across the charity Leonard Cheshire, whose founder led the 617 squadron after the Dambuster raids.

Bob said: “I like long-distance rides. As soon as I saw this one would be 150 miles, I thought: ‘I’m up for that.’ Given my RAF history and links to Leonard Cheshire, I had to do it. “

Cycle Together will raise funds for the Park House Hotel, the award-winning accessible venue with specialist facilities for disabled people. Families and riders of all abilities can opt for one of the shorter distances, from 10 to 100 miles.

Bob added: “I’ve done 30 or 40 long distance cycling events now. You don’t always get distances like this and 150 miles is a real challenge. There will be a huge sense of achievement.”

Anyone interested in taking part should visit the event’s page at www.leonardcheshire.org.