Splash Projects – boxing tournament sponsor in honour of fellow comrade 

Thirty years ago, a good friend of our CEO lost his leg following a military parachuting accident. 

Simon Poole was serving alongside Alan “Yorkie” Craven in the Royal Engineers when Yorkie’s parachute failed to open during an exercise in 1994 and he hit the ground after falling 1,500ft. 

Miraculously, he overcame multiple severe injuries and survived the traumatic ordeal, subsequently dubbed “superman” by the Sun newspaper. 

UK military charity, Blesma – the Limbless Veterans, has been instrumental in Yorkie’s ongoing recovery journey over the last three decades, supporting him through the mental and physical toll the accident had on him and his loved ones.  

Mutual friend and former Royal Engineer with the 9 Parachute Squadron, Steve Sutton – who also served with Simon and Yorkie – has organised a fundraising boxing tournament for Blesma, and Splash Projects is sponsoring the initiative, providing his training kit. 

So far, more than £20,000 has been raised by competitors for the charity, £3,300+ by Steve

Steve said:

“When I last saw Yorkie it struck me how much the charity had helped him: Blesma gave Yorkie a reason to live his life, rather than to give up on life. 

“Having been through some difficult years myself, his struggles with mental health resonated and I started thinking about what I could do to give back to others and how I could put a smile on other people’s faces. 

“And, I can’t express how much doing something for someone else has impacted positively on my own wellbeing.” 

Simon, added:

“Splash Projects is all about giving back to others less fortunate in our communities, and Steve is trying to do just this – he’s working hard for a good cause.” 

The white-collar boxing tournament is taking place at Liverpool Olympia on Saturday 21 December. 

Visit Steve’s fundraising page here