Four Blesma members are attempting to swim the English channel for the second time in July 2025. Can you help them reach and even exceed their fundraising target of £4,000 for Blesma?
Donations made through the swimming challenge on the team's JustGiving page will help support more limbless veterans in leading independent and fulfilling lives. Any donation, no matter how big or small, can make a huge difference to the lives of limbless veterans and their families.
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The team, consisting of Craig Howorth, Jamie Gillespie, Stephen White, and Conrad Thorpe, will swim in a relay across the English Channel.
They will start near Dover and take an S-shaped route across the Channel to make the best use of the tides. Overall, the swim is expected to take over 12 hours. The team will have to swim in one hour shifts in strict rotation and must have a team member in the water at all times.
The rules outlined by the Official Channel Swimming Association do not make any special exemptions for amputees.
In 2014, when the team first took on the challenge, they became the first team of amputees to successfully swim the English Channel, setting a new world record. By taking on the English Channel again, they hope to exceed the £4,000 raised in 2014.
Meet the team taking on the English Channel for the second time
Craig Howorth (56): Craig is a right leg below-the-knee amputee after losing his leg in a road traffic accident in 2006. Craig had previously served as a submariner in the Royal Navy from 1988 to 1993. He lives in Bacup, Lancashire and now works as a trail leader for Military Mountain Bikers.
Jamie Gillespie (49): Jamie was serving as a Sapper with the Royal Engineers when he was involved in a road traffic accident and lost his left leg below the knee in 1994. He was discharged from the Army in 1995 and has since retrained as a prosthetist and is living in Watford.
Stephen White (59): Stephen was serving as a Rifleman with The Royal Green Jackets when a cruciate knee injury led to him losing his left leg above the knee. Stephen was discharged from the Army in 1987 and has since become a Chief Executive. He lives in Shotley, Essex.
Conrad Thorpe (60): Conrad was born and grew up in East Africa and represented Kenya at the Commonwealth Games in 1982. He served in the Royal Marines for 21 years, during which time he was selected for the Special Boat Service and served all over the world with them, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Conrad damaged his ankle while running which eventually led to an elective amputation in 2011. Jamie Gillespie is also Conrad's prosthetist - which is how he came to join the team. Conrad is now the Chief Executive of one of Africa’s leading risk management and security companies.
Watch how their swim across the English Channel went in 2014.
We are all in training for what is a formidable challenge for any swimmer. On top of that, of course, we are all 10 years older, but we are more experienced and competent at open water swimming now, and that will help us.
Stephen White
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