Brighton train drivers take on rowing challenge for cancer charity

Three train drivers relay-rowed the distance from London to Paris in 24 hours on Brighton Station concourse, raising thousands for charity.
Richard Brown bucket collectingRichard Brown bucket collecting
Richard Brown bucket collecting

The trio are on their way to tripling their target of £2,000 for Cancer Research UK with a staggering £1,541 raised by bucket collectors alone and a further £4,200 in pledges plus donations on their sponsorship page.

Driver competency manager at Southern Rail Richard Quinn and drivers Gary Harman and Richard Brown took part in the rowing machine marathon which began at midday on Friday (January 11).

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Richard Quinn, 42, from Portslade, said: “Everything went to plan and we were amazed by the amount of support we got from everyone. We had many people telling us inspirational and sadly tragic stories about how cancer had affected their lives, which only pushed us on more.

Richard Quinn with dad, cancer survivor Bartley QuinnRichard Quinn with dad, cancer survivor Bartley Quinn
Richard Quinn with dad, cancer survivor Bartley Quinn

“I think we all suffered between 3am and 6am but once the station opened again on Saturday and people started to arrive it became easier.”

All three have had their lives touched by cancer. A colleague of theirs, who was only in his thirties, died from the disease recently.

Richard said: “Our colleague’s death at such a young age affected us all. In the past year, five of my direct family members plus work colleagues have been diagnosed or treated for cancer. Sadly, I’ve known of several deaths because of this cruel disease.”

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Richard’s father, 71, who was successfully treated for colorectal cancer, came along to support his son.

Richard Brown, 37, and also from Brighton, said: “I lost my best friend Elena to Non-Hodgkin lymphoma two years ago after a long battle. It made me painfully aware of just how cruel and non-discriminating cancer could be.”

The drivers’ sponsorship page remains up and running for donations at bit.ly/2sdmYrR