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The Reitze stuff – ex-PTI Iain hits London’s streets for 30-hour charity trek
17 June 2025
Former Royal Navy physical training instructor Iain Reitze is pounding the streets of the capital today and tomorrow on a unique charity fundraiser.
The 60-year-old ex-sailor from Liverpool is on the streets of London 30 hours – an hour for each year he served in the RN – criss-crossing the Thames via its many bridges to raise funds for three good causes.
Iain set off on Tower Bridge a 7am today and will end his walk at 3pm tomorrow in the same place, hoping to have hit his £2k target, which will be shared equally among Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity and Cancer Research; the latter is particularly close to the former clubz heart as the disease has hit his family hard down the years.
Ian lost his mother to cancer in 2000, and both his wife Jackie, sister Victoria, plus close friends, have come through – or are still enduring – tough battles with the disease.
“There were times when I really thought both Jackie and Victoria wouldn’t come out of hospital, and it felt like a very dark, sad place being absorbed by this disease,” the ex-clubz said.
The help they’ve had on their tough journeys has been exceptional and we must continue the research into hopefully eliminating it once and for all.
“The help they’ve had on their tough journeys has been exceptional and we must continue the research into hopefully eliminating it once and for all.”
He’s chosen SSAFA for the charity’s work to help homeless veterans – and it’s why Iain will spend tonight sleeping rough on the streets of London.
His 30-year service career spans time as a sonar operator, then as a PTI and finally as an exercise rehabilitation instructor at Headley Court, helping wounded/injured Service personnel rebuild their lives.
Iain has had his own struggles, some physical, some psychological, as he explains: “I left the Forces in 2008 and have delivered health and wellness to thousands of people since, and I feel this has kept me focused and sane because I struggled when I first left and came into the uncertainty of civvy street.
“So many of our veterans, men and women who have given so much and were prepared to give it all, struggle when they leave, experiencing homelessness and finding readjustment hard, but SSAFA helps them.”
As for the dogs/cats home, that’s driven by his love of animals, especially his dogs Gordon (named after Iain’s dad and sailor who sadly died before seeing his son join the Senior Service) and Eric.
To support Iain, visit his fundraising page here.