AN EX-SOLDIER is organising a three-day run in aid of a military veterans charity to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

David Chalstrey, of Owermoigne, hopes the London to Warsash Elephant Run, set to take place in June, will raise tens of thousands of pounds for the Not Forgotten Association.

Four teams of runners from Army regiments based at Bovington were among the first to confirm they will take part in what is hoped to become an annual event.

Dorchester-based estate agent David Chalstrey, 39, said he was inspired to set up the 90-mile run because he felt the Not Forgotten Association may have been overlooked recently.

He said: “I wanted to raise some money for veterans because I used to be in a TA regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company, based in the city of London.

“I’ve been out of the TA for 10 years now and it just struck me that, if I had still been in now, their commitments are very different to what they used to be.

“It could have been me going out to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan – these conflicts have had a huge effect on all of us and injured veterans need our help.

“I also think that charities like Help For Heroes, as brilliant as it is, might have been getting more exposure recently.”

The military teams already confirmed include two from Bovington’s Royal Armoured Corps, one from the Wessex Yeomanry and one from C Company of the Devon and Dorset Rifles.

Mr Chalstrey said places are still open to military and non-military running teams, although non-military teams will need to arrange their own overnight accommodation during the race.

The current Chief of General Staff, Sir Richard Dannatt, will begin the race at the Tower of London on June 4.

The runners will travel via Guildford, Woking and Winchester to Warsash near Southampton, where the race will end by the River Hamble on June 6.

The military runners will be met on the river by Royal Marines in a 30-metre landing craft and taken to the ‘elephant boatyard’ up stream, where a memorial service for D-Day veterans will be held.

Mr Chalstrey said the runners will also deliver a ‘best wishes’ letter from the association to the Mayor of Fareham who will be meeting the runners at the end of their journey.

For more information on the race, which has already been sponsored by Dorset Cereals and Wyke Farms, visit elephantrun.co.uk