Seven year old Hastings boy takes on hero walk in honour of his dad’s comrade who was killed on tour in Afghanistan

Edward, along with his two close friends, Jacob Skinner and Zac Ellis, also seven, are due to take on The Scotty’s Hero Walk in November.

The walk is in memory of Corporal Lee Scott, a close friend and comrade of Edward’s dad, Chris, and the inspiration behind Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a national charity set up in Lee Scott’s memory to support children who have lost a parent who served in the British Armed Forces.

The charity was set up a year after Lee’s death in 2009 by wife, Nikki Scott. Lee was killed while on tour in Afghanistan leaving behind two young children, Kai, and Brooke.

Since its inception in 2010, Scotty’s has supported hundreds of children, up and down the country, who at such a young age have already gone through so much.

Edward’s dad, Chris, met Lee in 2003. Chris said: “We had a great circle of friends. We’d spend all our spare time together either in the bar, playing cards, playing football or just generally being in each other’s company.

“I would often come back to my room to find Lee sat on my sofa helping himself to the contents of my fridge.

“I was lucky enough to see Lee and Nikki get married and see him become a great husband and father. Losing him is up there with one of the worst days of my life, but, with the work that Nikki and the Scotty’s team have done, his legacy and his memory lives on.

“Whenever I think of the charity and the work it does, all I can see in my head is Lee’s cheeky grin and I know he would be extremely proud.”

Edward, Zac, and Jacob’s Hero Walk will take place in November.

The Hero Walk has been organised by Scotty’s Little Soldiers as part of its ‘November to Remember’ campaign to thank those men and women who have sacrificed their lives to protect our country, as well as helping to raise money to support the children they left behind.

The walk is five miles long and can be completed at any point through the month. As well as remembering our fallen heroes, this year’s walk can also be used as a way of thanking our keyworkers who have worked tirelessly to help us through the global pandemic.

Chris said: “I am so proud of my son for doing it in memory of my friend.

“For his friends to also join him on this walk shows how great their friendship is, even at a young age, and I’m extremely thankful Edward has them in his life.”

Scotty’s does lots of things to support its members, including providing access to the very best health and wellbeing care, offering outstanding development opportunities through a range of activity and educational grants, and Scotty’s helps put smiles back on those brave faces by organising events, providing respite breaks, posting them birthday and Christmas presents and remembering the anniversary of their parent’s death.

In recent months, the charity has had to adapt to the current climate and has been using modern technology and arranging exciting virtual events and activities to engage with its members as well as offering an increased level of emotional support to a great number of families who are struggling to cope with added pressures.

Nikki Scott, who set up the charity, said: “What Edward and his friends are doing in Lee’s memory is just incredible. He’s a little trooper and I know Lee would be very proud of what he’s doing. Chris and Lee were such good friends, I know how much losing Lee impacted him and we’re delighted to have Chris and his family in our lives.

“The last few months have been enormously difficult for our members, and November is a particularly poignant month, so we wanted to set up the Hero Walk to help raise money, while also recognising and reassuring the children we support that they are not going through this alone. “Remembrance will be very different this year and for many of our members, who have already been through so much, the change and uncertainly of this year has had a dramatic impact. Money raised from the Hero Walk will go towards building that support network for bereaved Forces children when they need it the most.”

Edward, Zac, and Jacob have set themselves an initial fundraising target of £150 but are currently surpassing that at around £1,000

Donate to the cause here

Or to sign up for the Scotty’s Hero Walk visit: https://givepenny.com/event/hero-walk2020

And to find out more about Scotty’s Little Soldiers visit: http://scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/

See also: Seven year old Bexhill boy learning and singing 102 songs to support the Poppy Appeal