A second world war veteran who lost a leg below the knee will join a five-day cycle ride to commemorate the late MP Jo Cox and raise money for her charities.
Franklin Medhurst, 96, will ride a special recumbent tricycle for the start of the event, called The Jo Cox Way, a 260-mile ride from Cox’s constituency in Birstall, West Yorkshire, to the House of Commons in London.
Medhurst joins a group that includes the MP’s sister, Kim Leadbeater, and Brian Robinson, 85, from Mirfield in West Yorkshire, who in 1955 became the first Briton to finish the Tour de France.
Medhurst, who completed six years of service in the RAF, is also known for a letter he wrote to the Guardian before the EU referendum that championed the peace and stability he said the union had brought to the continent.
His letter went viral and was shared by thousands of people including Cox, just before she was killed. Other backers included the Labour MP Dan Jarvis, who said that as a veteran, Medhurst knew what was at stake.
Powerful letter from 96 year-old #veteran Franklin Medhurst. He knows what's at stake next Thursday. https://t.co/OvzNrjv4h4
— Dan Jarvis (@DanJarvisMP) June 16, 2016
The cyclists will set off from Princess Mary stadium in Cleckheaton at 10am on Wednesday and arrive in Westminster on Sunday 21 August, stopping off at different towns along the way. They will visit thriving community projects the public have nominated to highlight neighbourhood collaborations that have had a positive effect on people and their environments.
Cyclists are encouraged to join the group for the entirety of the journey or just ride part of the way as the group passes through their local area. “It would be just excellent to share the ride and obtain encouragement from those in the UK that wish to ensure that Jo’s values take further seed and truly blossom,” the Facebook group for the event states.
The Jo Cox Way was organised by Sarfraz Mian, the chief executive officer of the equestrian company Neue Schule, based in North Yorkshire. Mian said he was inspired to start the initiative after hearing negative stories about the country after the vote to leave the EU, particularly news regarding divisions within communities.
He said: “I, like many people around the UK, was very disturbed by the discussion that went on in the Brexit debate. It started off at a reasonable temperature and just got hotter and more polarising. The language being used was setting people and communities against one another.
“Then we had the tragedy … I hadn’t previously known about Jo, I’m not hugely political, but what came across loud and clear in the following days was her personality. More importantly, the superb principles she held and her values really struck a chord with me and so many people around the world, the fact that communities are dependent on each other, we are much stronger when people are working together.”
He added: “I really didn’t think the country was as bad as the divisions being portrayed, yes there were differences of opinion but so much of what was making the headlines was that people were against other people. I fundamentally don’t think that is the case. I actually think the reality is that you might have a very vocal minority that can articulate themselves and make their presence known but the majority of people actually get on and are doing all sorts of remarkable projects up and down the country.”
Mian said he wanted to travel down the country carrying the positive message, and that having others embrace the idea and participate inspired hope. “I just felt compelled. It’s not that I’m a great cyclist, I’m the opposite, and it will be tough. But I absolutely didn’t think I was alone in these sentiments,” he said.
“I think someone like Franklin taking part gives hope, he is somebody who gave up six years of his life for this country during the war and even at this point in time in his life, when you could completely forgive him for being focused on himself, what he’s actually doing is saying: ‘Look, I have a wealth of experience and nothing to lose from offering my insight.’
“I’ve had a couple of very good discussions with Franklin and he is, even at 96, so enthusiastic at supporting communities and ensuring that the things that Jo was working hard to try and achieve are maintained.”
