Former soldier Kev Stewart said he felt “tremendous gratitude, pride and respect” after taking part in a charity cycle race on the beaches of Normandy.

Kev, from Wick, was raising money for the Royal British Legion by covering a 218-mile route over three days in mid-July to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Around 50 cyclists took part in the trip, which took them to Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah beaches in northern France, raising more than £188,000 for the Legion.

Kev (45) is a committee member and flag bearer for the Wick, Canisbay and Latheron branch of Legion Scotland.

He said visiting the beaches, memorials and cemeteries was a powerful reminder of the bravery shown by Allied troops. The large-scale invasion of Nazi-occupied France in 1944 ultimately turned the tide of World War II in the Allies’ favor.

“It was an honour to have had the opportunity to visit the beaches of Normandy, this journey touched my heart and soul deeply,” said Kev.

“As a former front-line soldier, standing where so many brave souls fought and sacrificed their lives filled me with great gratitude, pride and respect.”

Kev is studying for a degree in Christian theology at Highland Theological College in Dingwall with the aim of becoming an army chaplain.

He has held several services at St Fergus Church in Wick and plans to hold another service there and at Pulteneytown Parish Church in the near future.

In preparation for Normandy, Kev had completed several long-distance cycling events in Britain, tackling the Etape Loch Ness (66 miles) in April, the Etape Caledonia (85 miles) in May and the Dragon Ride Gran Fondo in Wales (132 miles) in June.

He also embarked on an 80-mile D-Day memorial bike ride around London with veterans charity The Not Forgotten on June 6, the anniversary of D-Day.

All the money will go to the Legion and Kev has now surpassed the £1,000 target he set on his online fundraising page.

After visiting Pegasus Bridge, Kev went to nearby Ranville War Cemetery and found a row of Seaforth Highlanders’ graves in the driving rain. He said: “As I knelt on these graves and prayed, the rain stopped and the sun began to shine – it was a very touching moment.”

His visit to Omaha Beach, where nearly 2,000 American soldiers lost their lives on D-Day, provided another profound experience. “I was so humbled and moved to stand on the actual site of that terrible bloodshed,” Kev said.

At the British Normandy Memorial overlooking Gold Beach, Kev prayed and read the memorial eulogy during a short ceremony.

On Sword beach there is a statue of Bill Millin, Lord Lovat’s personal flutist who was tasked with leading Lovat’s commandos ashore. “The thought of going into battle as a flutist like Lovat’s commandos filled me with a powerful sense of pride and passion,” Kev said.

“Let us never forget the bravery of those who fought on the beaches of Normandy and the impact their actions had on the world,” he added.

Kev served with The Highlanders in Northern Ireland in the mid-1990s and left the regular army with the rank of corporal. He later joined the Territorial Army and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2003.

Kev’s experiences in Afghanistan left him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Kev raised over £1,200 for the Legion by cycling around World War I battlefields and cemeteries in France and Belgium in July 2023.

In September, he was part of a group of 10 people who cycled around 400 miles across 14 counties in England, raising more than £10,000 for The Not Forgotten.

Kev took on the Ypres challenge after enduring two physical ordeals in 18 months. First a near-fatal case of meningitis, then a freak accident that left him with a fractured tibia and fibula and a dislocated ankle.

His ankle had to be reconstructed and he has a metal plate on the side of his right leg.

At the end of 2023, Kev and his partner Annemarie Simpson attended a Christmas dinner at St James’s Palace in London, where they met the Princess Royal, who is patron of the Society of Those Not Forgotten.

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