A Royal Navy officer has received his 2nd Long Service and Good Conduct Bar after 38½ years’ service.
And Lieutenant Commander Michael ‘Doc’ Cox isn’t finished yet – he plans a cycle ride later this month to raise funds for NHS charities and armed forces charity SSAFA.
Lt Cdr Cox, who joined the RN on June 19 1984, received his 2nd Bar from former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band in the great cabin aboard HMS Victory.
It was Sir Jonathon who presented Lt Cdr Cox with his first Navy rugby cap against the RAF in 2001. Lt Cdr Cox is now the UKAF Director of Rugby.
“It was a huge honour for Sir Jonathon to award me my second badge for my LSGC,” said Lt Cdr Cox. “Without his occasional sage advice over the years I most definitely wouldn’t still be serving, so I feel really humbled.”
Earlier in the day Lt Cdr Cox launched his UKAF Director of Rugby’s Nightingale Challenge with support driver PO Pony Moore and BFBS’s Jon Knighton, at the Grave of Florence Nightingale in East Wellow, Hampshire.
The Nightingale Challenge will see him cycle from Glasgow on June 25, arriving in London on July 5, visiting five of the Nightingale hospitals - Glasgow, Sunderland, Harrogate, Birmingham, and London. The Nightingales were built with the help of service personnel to provide capacity for the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trip will cover approximately 840km in ten days to raise donations for the NHS charities and SSAFA, whilst carrying a Nightingale ‘flame of remembrance’ lantern.
The inspiration for the challenge was due to the care and compassion shown by the NHS staff during the loss of Lt Cdr Cox’s stepmother last year and his own journey dealing with the removal of a ‘man lump’ earlier this year.
The challenge can be followed daily with a daily podcast on the UKAF Rugby’s Facebook page and any donations can be made at: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DoRNightingaleChallenge
