A FORMER RAF serviceman is to take on a mammoth 650-mile cycling challenge to raise money in memory of his late wife.

Martin Brewster, from Chadlington, near Chipping Norton, will cycle to London and then on to Paris in September in aid of the Royal British Legion.

The challenge is the Pedal to Paris ride, which is organised by the RBL and has been held for the past 20 years.

About 250 other riders will cover the route, which begins in Greenwich Park on Thursday, September 3, and finishes at the Arc de Triomphe in the centre of Paris on Monday, September 7.

This will be the third time Mr Brewster has attempted the challenge, having taken part in 2003 and 2010.

After returning home from the 2010 ride, the 60-year-old discovered his wife Pat had been admitted to the Horton General Hospital in Banbury with a serious heart condition.

She had insisted her husband was not told about her condition as she knew how much the ride meant to him.

She died in December 2013.

Mr Brewster said: “My daughter Mazz had wanted to call me but Pat refused to let me be disturbed by it because she thought it would ruin the race for me.

“Pat did most of my fundraising for me by persuading her friends to donate, so this year I decided to ride it in her memory.”

Mr Brewster joined the RAF as an apprentice in 1971. He was stationed at RAF Benson and rose to the rank of corporal, before retiring in 1996 as squadron leader. 

Mr Brewster first took on the cycling challenge after being moved by news coverage of service personnel killed in conflicts in Iraq and later Afghanistan.

He is hoping to raise more than £2,000 to help the legion carry on its work in supporting former members of the armed forces across the country.

And he has pledged that if he exceeds his target he will dye his beard red.

Mr Brewster said: “I’ve seen the marvellous work the legion does and what they still have to do.

“I’ve served during conflicts in Iraq and Bosnia in a support role and of course I have seen some horrendous things, people with terrible injuries.

“The big thing is that people think the legion get all their money from the Poppy Appeal but that only covers a third of it.”

To donate to Mr Brewster’s appeal online, go to justgiving.com/martinbrewsterp2p2015