On Sunday 27th April, an incredible team of 87 Army Benevolent Fund supporters, including serving soldiers and veterans, competed in the 2025 TCS London Marathon.
We are so grateful to all our runners, who took part in the event to raise vital funds for the Army Benevolent Fund’s lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families. Here are a few members of our dedicated team:
Erin Perry
Erin Perry took part in the race to commemorate her late brother, Michael, and to give something back to the charity that provided vital assistance to her family.
In 2009, when Erin was 11, her older brother, Michael, was deployed to Afghanistan with the Royal Military Police. Three months into his service, he was tragically killed, aged only 22.
After her brother’s death, the Army Benevolent Fund reached out directly to Erin’s family to offer support during this painful time. This included offering financial help while Erin’s parents took time off work, and helping the family provide a permanent tribute to Michael at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Now a professional gym instructor and personal trainer, Erin recalls: “We were all able to take as much time off as we needed, and the ABF was always there to offer long-term support. It made a big difference whilst we were sorting everything out.”
WO1 Jamie Pearson
Jamie Pearson is the Command Sergeant Major (Comd SM) of Standing Joint Command (SJC) in Aldershot. Previously, he served as the Regimental Sergeant Major of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Yorkshire Regiment, and as the Infantry Command Sergeant Major.
As SJC Comd SM, Jamie sits on the Army Benevolent Fund’s grants committee, which reviews requests for the charity’s support for other organisations helping soldiers, veterans and their families. This has given Jamie a unique insight into the value of the ABF’s support.
Jamie says: “I find it very motivating to support the ABF, which is the Army’s national charity. As a member of the ABF’s grant committee, I can see exactly how donations to the charity are spent and I have learnt about the many brilliant organisations that help our veterans, soldiers and their families. Witnessing the assistance the charity provides to soldiers, their families, and veterans is incredibly rewarding. You never know when you might need the ABF’s help.”
This is Jamie’s second Marathon for the ABF, and he plans to complete the Great South Run in October in support of the charity.
John Rawdon-Mogg
Former Army Officer, John Rawdon-Mogg was inspired by his service in Afghanistan to join the ABF’s Marathon team. John served from 2008 until 2015, as an officer in The Household Calvary. He was deployed to Afghanistan on Op Herrick 13, at the same time as his twin, who was in the Territorial Army. From this experience, he wanted to highlight the ongoing importance of mental health support for veterans following their discharge from the services.
John whose grandfather, a General and WW2 veteran, was the President of the ABF in the 1970s, was delighted to finish the Marathon in 4 hours 18 minutes having had recent knee surgery. He says: “If ever there was a charity, I would run a Marathon for, it’s the ABF – it’s a cause that’s close to my heart. “
Emma King
In the run up to the event, our ABF runners have been inspired by our London Marathon ambassador, Emma King. Emma ran the race herself, finishing in just over 4 hours.
Emma has shown incredible dedication to fundraising for our charity. After losing a friend in an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2009, she channelled their memory and that of others into a powerful force for good. Over the past 15 years, Emma has raised more than £60,000 for the ABF, completing the London Marathon seven times, participating in the Cateran Yomp, and many other challenges. She has also organised numerous events in her hometown of Monmouth, and with the support of her employer, Barclays, and their matched funding programme, Emma’s fundraising has had even more of a positive impact.
Emma was honoured to be chosen as an Olympic torch bearer in 2012 and proudly serves as a charity ambassador.
Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer at the Army Benevolent Fund, said: “We are so grateful to our incredible team of London Marathon runners and to everyone who cheered them to the finish line and donated vital funds to our work. It is only thanks to the dedication of all our fundraisers that the Army Benevolent Fund is able to offer a lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their families.”
Read more about running the next London Marathon in 2026 here.