Fundraising challenge 2026
Gary is a former Royal Marines Musician and Royal Navy Logistics Officer who served 11,993 days in uniform. After years of operational service, Gary faced the unseen reality of PTSD, burnout and long COVID, and the impact this had not just on him, but on his family. When support finally arrived, it came through the Corps family, with The Royal Marines Charity stepping in to provide the right help at the right time.
From 1 Jan 26, Gary is completing 11,993 rehabilitation exercises (one for every day he served), finishing at the Mountbatten Festival of Music, in London. This challenge is about recovery, giving back, and ensuring other veterans and families don’t have to wait for life-changing support.
Please consider supporting this outstanding effort using the QR Code, or visit https://www.zeffy.com/en-GB/donation-form/steps-to-recovery-ptsd-and-the-rm-charity
Gary Turner. Former RM Musician / RN Logistics Officer.
My name is Gary Turner. I served almost 12,000 days in the Royal Marines and Royal Navy, operationally on land and at sea, at home and around the globe.
In 2020, I found myself in hospital exhausted, seriously unwell, and facing the reality that I could no longer carry on. PTSD, burnout and long COVID followed over the next few years, taking their toll on both my family and me.
I served 11,993 days in uniform.
6,093 days in the Royal Marines.
5,974 days in the Royal Navy.
(40 days more in the Royal Marines, not that I am counting).
From 1 January 2026, I embarked on a physical challenge to complete 11,993 rehabilitation exercises, around 150 repetitions every day, finishing on the weekend of the Mountbatten Festival of Music on 21 March 2026.
This challenge is my way of giving back to the charity that stepped in when my family needed help most, and of helping ensure other veterans and families do not have to wait years for the proper support.
When support comes too late, the cost is paid at home. Timely help changes lives, not just for veterans but for their families too.
Background
I joined the Royal Marines Band Service in 1992 and later transferred to the Royal Navy as a Logistics Officer in 2009. My naval service took me to Afghanistan on OP HERRICK 13 with 845 Naval Air Squadron, Commando Helicopter Force, and later to the Gulf as the Logistics Officer in HMS ARGYLL throughout Lockdown One.
After seven months deployed, I returned to the UK and was shortly afterwards taken from home by ambulance under blue lights and hospitalised with COVID-19. I was discharged on 29 November 2020.
Determined to put it behind me and get back to normal, I started a new post as Officer Commanding Logistics Operations at RNAS Yeovilton in early January 2021. Just six weeks after discharge, I was responsible for 90 people and £0.75bn of aircraft stock.
At the time, returning to work felt like the right thing to do. In reality, it meant I never fully recovered physically or mentally from being seriously ill.
I spent over a year medically downgraded and attended recovery courses at DMRC Stanford Hall. EMDR therapy was recommended, but it did not materialise.
As soon as I was able, I returned to helping others, including supporting South Western Ambulance Service with the delivery of new ambulances and volunteering as a Community First Responder and Military Co-Responder.
On the surface, I was coping. Underneath, I was not recovering.
Over time, the impact became impossible to ignore. I withdrew. My moods were low, my patience short, and my frustration often spilled over. For nearly five years, my family have lived with tension, uncertainty and the emotional weight of walking on eggshells while trying to support someone they loved.
In October 2024, I was sent back to DMRC for complex trauma recovery. Alongside long COVID, chronic fatigue, burnout and depression, I was formally diagnosed with PTSD and once again recommended for EMDR therapy. It had taken over four years to reach that point.
Just weeks before I was due to leave the Service, a decision made because my family and I could no longer cope with the demands of Forces life, I received a phone call.
I was told that waiting lists in Service were very long, so I would not have enough time left to access EMDR therapy and was referred to the NHS and OP COURAGE. But waiting lists on the outside were just as bad. They suggested I approach the Royal Marines Charity for help.
When I approached the Corps family, everything changed. The Royal Marines Charity did not just listen. They acted. They funded EMDR therapy for both my wife and me, recognising that trauma does not sit with one person alone. That support brought understanding of triggers. It brought coping tools. It brought calm back into our home.
Recovery was not instant, but it became possible.
The Mountbatten Festival holds deep personal meaning. I performed there many times during my career. Finishing this challenge there marks a line between service and recovery. The exercises themselves come from the Stanford Hall recovery programme, where I spent three intensive weeks beginning my physical and emotional recovery. This challenge is about reclaiming control, giving something back, and shining a light on the reality that mental injury is often invisible.
This challenge is not just about fitness. It is about commitment, rebuilding and continuing recovery, supported by family and friends who will be with me at the Festival to mark the end of this journey together.
Why Your Support Matters
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Ministry of Defence (MOD), 253 UK armed forces veterans died by suicide in England and Wales in 2021.
PTSD does not just affect individuals. It also affects partners, children and families.
Your donation helps ensure that:
Veterans and their families receive timely support;
No one is left waiting when they are ready to ask for help; and,
Recovery can begin before crisis takes hold.
Every contribution helps someone lift the lid and start rebuilding.
If you are able to donate, thank you. If you can share this fundraiser, that support matters just as much. Together, we can make sure no one has to wait for the help that changes lives.
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