Ride to the Wall: 'It's a national pilgrimage of respect'

Over 20,000 people. More than 7000 bikes. Nearly half a million pounds raised for a worthy cause. Yet so many of us have never even heard of it.  

Saturday heralded the biggest-ever Ride to the Wall, an annual event where bikers from all over the country ride en masse to pay their respects to fallen servicemen and raise money for the National Memorial Arboretum.

The ‘Wall’ is the Armed Forces Memorial, a monument at the Arboretum which is carved with the name of every serviceman and woman who has given their life in service since the end of the Second World War.

The event started in 2007 in the mind of founder Martin Dickinson. “I asked some other ex-army friends and Harley owners to come and join me in a ride out to the Arboretum,” he told MCN. “I expected maybe 50 people – I was so surprised and touched when 200 turned up. I never dreamed it would become this massive, national pilgrimage of respect and support for those who can no longer ride at our side.”

Now an official event and registered charity, the ride involves hundreds of unpaid volunteers and route marshals. Organised start points around the country ease congestion and allow greater numbers to attend.

The voluntary £10 donation per rider has so far raised over £400,000 for the Arboretum, a peaceful expanse of gardens and memorials that remains free to enter and continues to grow thanks to the donations it receives.

MCN joined the RAF Wittering Motorcycle Club at Colsterworth, Lincolnshire, where we left as a group to join one of the 11 official RTTW starting points. At Leicester Forest East services our group of nearly 20 became over 500, the Wittering lads and ladies merging with hundreds of bikes, trikes, outfits and scooters decked with RTTW teddies and Union Flags.

As we left for the ride to the Arboretum, bikers took over Britain’s roads. Crowds gathered to take photos of the spectacle or simply to show their support, waving and cheering from every flyover from Leicester to the entrance of the Arboretum itself, near Lichfield in Staffordshire.

An estimated 7100 bikes attended, with more than 20,000 people flooding the Arboretum grounds.

A moving service took place on the steps leading up to the Wall, with speeches from founder Martin and his team, stirring musical performances, and a Tiger Moth aircraft soaring overhead to release 16,000 poppies – one for each name engraved on the memorial Wall.

Huge bikers in leather waistcoats and plumed berets blinked back tears as they lay wreaths at the monument, while grieving families looked up at the carved names of their loved ones and shook every hand they could reach to say thank you.

Ride to the Wall is an incredibly poignant and respectful day, a huge asset to the National Memorial Arboretum and a wonderful tribute to the families of the fallen. It was a privilege to be a part of it. 

Story and photography by Charlie Lester