Lawyer walks Northumberland stretch of Hadrian's Wall in full Roman regalia in memory of late father
A lawyer has walked Hadrian's Wall in memory of his father dressed in full Roman Empire regalia and re-enactment gear.
Jonathan Terry, 39, has walked the Wall in memory of his father, Steve, who died of prostate cancer in 2021, and hopes wearing the Roman legionaries' gear sends a "macho" message to men to " normalise talking about your health." Jonathan was kitted out in a replica helmet, armour, belt and shield thought to be worn by soldiers from the Roman Empire.
Joined by his brother, Stuart, and his three friends Torbjorn Soltvedt, Alex Clarke, and Alun Chave, the walk is raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. They walked between 25 and 30 miles from Birdoswald Roman Fort to Chesters Roman Fort in Chollerford on Friday, and visited other English Heritage sites along the route.
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Jonathan, from Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, hopes the walk will encourage men to be more open about their health concerns. He said: "There’s a machismo that comes with Roman legionaries, but actually what the message is it’s macho to talk about your health and it’s fine and normal.
"It’s really encouraging men to not be afraid to talk to their mates, but obviously talk to a doctor as well. Early diagnosis in these kinds of things can save lives, so I want it to be really about that."
Jonathan has been supported by staff at the Trimontium Museum in Melrose, Scotland, who lent Mr Terry and his friends replica Roman Empire gear for the weekend to support his fundraising endeavours. Jonathan continued: "They (Trimontium Museum) have been amazing since day one.
"They raided the museum basement and cellars to give us as much equipment as possible."
Jonathan described his father, who died of an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2021, as "positive" and believes he would have thought the walk "a bit mad". He said: "There’ll be a sense of sadness that he’s not here for (the walk), but he was a very positive person who would think that I was definitely a bit mad for doing this, but would not be surprised."
He added that his father's diagnosis came as a "huge shock" and there was "no history of it in the family". Jonathan continued: "He probably didn’t take the symptoms perhaps as seriously as he might have done if he’d been more aware of what it could be rather than just a factor of just getting older, I think he would be really keen to encourage people to get tested."
Jonathan hopes that funds raised from the walk will go towards Prostate Cancer UK's research into the disease, saying: "I think he (Steve), and certainly my family, wanted to raise awareness or campaign, as it were, against cancer. We wouldn’t want any family to go through what we went through.
"There’s a sense of history, meaningfulness and obvious loss and absence that he’s not there, but I think it’s being wrapped up in a really positive way of raising funds and raising awareness for a charity that is dedicated to funding research into fighting this cancer that kills so many men each year."
The walk also forms part of Jonathan's 40th celebration celebrations, who said he "always wanted to do something a little bit mad" while raising money for an important cause. He finished: "What better way to celebrate than to walk Hadrian's Wall."
So far, Jonathan has raised £2,290, more than double of his £1,000 target. You can find out more and support his fundraiser here.
Prostate Cancer UK are supporting Jonathan's fundraiser and want to encourage men to use the charity's online risk checker to assess their risk of the disease, which they can do here.