Three estate agents in Horsham raised around £3,000 for charity walking in the South Downs in memory of their famous cousin.
Two brothers at Leaders Estate Agents, in Market Square, Josh and Bradley Weller, were joined by fellow employee Charlotte Read, and friend Tom Gilbert, to walk 100 miles across the South Downs Way in four days.
They were raising money in memory of their cousin and friend Rob Gauntlett, a former Christ’s Hospital student, who died tragically at the age of 21 whilst climbing in the French Alps in 2009, along with friend James Atkinson.
Josh and Bradley are the grandsons of the founder of Leaders, Neville Lee, and the son of Leaders’ managing director, Paul Weller.
Rob, their cousin, was also grandson to Neville Lee, and was the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest and was accredited National Geographic Adventurer of the year for his 22,000-mile man-powered Pole to Pole expedition in 2007-8.
Leaders were proud to sponsor Rob in both endeavours and were delighted to sponsor Josh, Bradley and Charlotte.
Josh said: “We started our walk in Winchester and finished at Beachy Head in Eastbourne with sore feet and aching joints.
“We were so pleased to have completed it and raised almost £3,000 in Rob’s memory for a cause that we know he would fully support.
“Before Rob died he had mentioned that he would like to try and improve the lives of others not so fortunate in Africa.
“So the money we have raised will be donated to The Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, a small non-governmental UK registered charity which aims to lift Ugandan children out of poverty through education.”
The Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, whose Patrons are Prince William and Prince Harry, forms partnerships with schools and invests in buildings and educational resources to ensure that even the poorest children have access to high-quality education.
It is passionate, efficient and consultative, with a long term involvement in each school and area, and provides an excellent example of good African development.
Josh added: “One of the schools the charity works with is Nalango Secondary School in Uganda, which Rob’s Trust has helped to build from nothing but bare earth to five classrooms and eight latrines. But it is the only secondary school in the area and is growing. It urgently needs additional facilities for its teachers and pupils.”
By the end of this year The Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial Fund is hoping to provide the school with four teachers’ houses, three water tanks, 35 desks and £1,000 worth of textbooks.
The group thanked everyone who sponsored them, and hoped the £3,000 would make a big difference for the growing school.