A FORMER sergeant major will live up to his old squadron’s motto ‘go anywhere, do anything, willingly’ when he cycles through Holland for charity today.

Ex-paratrooper in the Royal Armoured Corps, John Wilkinson, will complete a 260 kilometre round trip to Arnhem in time for the annual reunion of the airborne landings.

The decorated ex-soldier is hoping to raise more than £1,000 for the forces’ charity Help for Heroes through the two day bike ride.

So far the veteran, and former Dorchester Prison librarian, has raised £700 toward the charity, which looks after soldiers returning from war with serious injuries.

The 61-year-old has been training for the journey by cycling from his Weymouth home to his Dorchester-based job as a book delivery driver for Dorset County Council Library Service.

All this week he has donned his old army smock and red beret during his rounds to highlight the task he has set himself and to generate more money.

The idea for the fundraiser began on Forces Day when the military man of 24 years spoke to two contemporaries.

He said: “They asked me to accompany them to Arnhem so I thought I could do it for charity and chose Help for Heroes because I feel a commitment to it after spending 24 years in the army.”

He added: “This war in Afghanistan is like none other we have seen before.

“Men who would have died in the past from serious injury now survive through the efforts of our medical corps on the front line.”