RAF Northolt personnel climb London Gherkin for the Fund

On Thursday 5 October, three RAF Northolt personnel took on The Gherkin challenge, climbing 38 floors to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

The challenge consisted of climbing the 38 floors – 180 metres and more than 1,000 steps – achieving almost 120 ascents collectively. For the climb, the team ran up the fire escape stairs and came down the service elevator repeatedly.

The Gherkin, formally 30 St Mary Axe and previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district in the City of London.

An unmistakable icon in London’s skyline, the Gherkin building's informal name comes from its ovular, elongated egg shape which resembles a gherkin, or pickled cucumber.

The Gherkin is 591 feet high and 41 stories tall, with numerous office spaces, a bar for tenants, and a restaurant and observation deck located on the top floors of the structure.

AS1 Stewart Milne organised the event and took part in the challenge alongside fellow runners AS1 Connor Jones and AS1 Jack Ruff. FS Arlene Morgan, Cpl Perry Wright and Cpl Ryan Burrows accompanied the team as support crew.

Stewart, 24, is an Air Cartographer at RAF Northolt and has been serving for two and a half years producing en-route charts to aid pilots in navigation and flight planning. He said: "I chose to organise the event off the back of a similar event held before the pandemic. I'd been wanting to organise an event for a good cause for some time, and this challenge provided the perfect opportunity to get started – hopefully it's the first of many times I can fundraise for the Fund."

Stewart continued: "I know people of all ranks at work who have been supported by the Fund, and they speak very openly about the fantastic support they have received. This was quite instrumental in our choice of charity.

"I specifically opted to support the Fund as I had heard from others at work how cooperative they were. This proved true as Suzie was a fantastic help throughout all stages of planning and was present on the day of the challenge to help spur us on."

Stewart was most looking forward to the mental challenge prior to the event. He said: "I had heard how relentless 12 hours of stair climbing was from those who had done it before and was relishing pushing myself to the limit. About halfway through the challenge, though, I was most looking forward to a cold beer!"

The Northolt team also took part in a bucket collection at Victoria Station prior to the event which raised £1,500 for the Fund. 

You can donate to the team's fundraiser on JustGiving.