A Doncaster-based community group embarked on a sponsored walk with the intent to establish a martial arts education programme for kids in the name of veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.
Caged Steel Communities, a company dedicated to helping people live healthier and more fulfilled lives through teaching kickboxing and MMA, arranged a hike last week to the site of the American B-29 crash in Derbyshire to honour the 13 US soldiers who lost their lives ahead.
The group, how have been helping the local community for two years, put together a team of seven volunteers who tackled the wet, foggy conditions on 3rd November, the day of the 75th anniversary of the fateful crash, raising money for a six week course which they will deliver to local school children to teach them the shared values of martial arts and the military, in honour of the fallen airmen.
CEO of Caged Steel Dominic Gibbs, 52, said: “We try to teach the life lessons that are within martial arts.
“At the end of six weeks, if someone can’t do a jab cross hook, it’s not as important to us as if they can understand respect, discipline, attention, dedication.”
The American aircraft, more commonly known as the ‘Bleaklow Bommer’, crashed near the Higher Shelf Stones near Glossop, Derbyshire on 3rd November 1948, killing all those on board.
The team from Caged Steel took time to pay their respects and laid two new British and American flags next to what remains of the wreckage.
Caged Steel has a close connection to the military, on a personal and professional level.
As a company, they have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and Mr Gibbs himself has familial ties to the armed forces.
He said: “I’m the son of a royal artillery soldier, so armistice day is something that I never miss.
“One of my best friends is also Ben Parkinson, who is Britain’s most wounded surviving soldier.
“Ben comes to all of our shows and this guy is so inspirational, so doing things like this is quite personal to me.”
The hike ending up being even more special than anticipated, with Mr Gibbs adding, “We got to the crash site and there were three guys there, one of which visits the site regularly and is in contact with the families of the airmen.
“He gave a small speech whilst we were there. He read out a remembrance poem and we then told him our story and what we were doing with the course and that it will be in honour of these 13 airmen, so it would get back to the families.
“For that to get back to the families, we thought that was really good.”
To find out more about the work of Caged Steel Communities, visit https://cagedsteelcommunities.co.uk/ or check out their Facebook page.