A former sailor from Highampton, in Devon, who has recovered from a brain tumour, will undertake our Heroes Hike across Dartmoor, to ‘repay’ the Charity that supported him.
In 2011, while deployed to Antarctica, Marc Andrew – now 54 and working as a Senior Supply Chain Manager for Navantia UK, the British subsidiary of the Spanish state-owned shipbuilding giant – was diagnosed with a rare cerebellar hemangioblastoma (brain tumour).
He was evacuated to the Falkland Islands for assessment before being flown to Uruguay for life-saving emergency surgery.
We arranged for a doctor and nurse to accompany him on his flight back to the UK, enabling him to travel safely after the operation. On his return, the Charity provided counselling for Marc and his family, arranged accommodation, and organised transport home with a trained counsellor.
The hikes enable people to contribute to the charity in a fun activity that gives everyone a sense of achievement and camaraderie, all in beautiful countryside ..."
Veteran and fundraiser
Ongoing psychological support throughout his recovery helped him return to full naval duties before retiring at the normal retirement age. Support has continued beyond his military career through his case manager, with assistance also extended to his family.
And participating in the Dartmoor leg of the Charity’s 2026 Heroes Hikes, on 12 September, will allow him to “repay them for their assistance when I needed it”.
He explained: “This is the first hike I’ve joined, but I have been involved in lots of fundraising events for Help for Heroes in the past and am a member of the Charity’s Band of Brothers.
“In the past, I have been involved in other fundraising events, including ‘shop in a box’; walked a half marathon inbetween brain surgeries; walked up Snowdon; attended Invictus Games training; and participated in Band of Brothers events to support my contemporaries.”
The Dartmoor hike is the sixth in a series of seven hikes Help for Heroes we've organised this year.
They began with Scafell Pike in April, followed by Snowdon in May, before the Three Peaks Challenge was completed with a visit to Ben Nevis in June. The focus shifted in July, when the hike took in 30 landmark military sites in London.
Walkers leave the city behind for the Jurassic Coast in August, before the series concludes in September, with two hikes in beautiful countryside: on Dartmoor and in the Lincolnshire Wolds (26th). Each guided hike costs £49 per person, with a suggested fundraising target of £200.
Marc added: “This is such a worthy cause, and the hikes enable people to contribute to the charity in a fun activity that gives everyone a sense of achievement and camaraderie, all in beautiful countryside.”
--- To support Marc’s efforts, please, visit bit.ly/NavUKhike.
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