Council's armed forces champion support veterans fundraising walk in memory of fallen Suffolk soldier

Councillor Tristan Gale asks the public to back the ex-soldiers efforts to raise money in honour of Guardsman Glen Ling.
Published: 10 Aug 2026

Suffolk County Council’s Armed Forces Champion has lent his support to a group of veterans who will be setting off on a fundraising trek in memory of a fallen comrade.

Councillor Tristan Gale is urging the public to get behind the former Grenadier Guardsmen who will be walking from Bawdsey to Snape Maltings on August 16.

Black and white image of a young soldier wearing a beret
Guardsman Glen Ling, who was killed in Northern Ireland in 1978. (Picture: Grenadier Guards Regimental Association).

The walk is in memory of Guardsman Glen Ling, from Saxmundham, Suffolk, who died alongside two other soldiers in an IRA ambush in Crossmaglen, Northern Ireland, in 1978.

Aged 18, he was part of an eight-man foot patrol that came under fire from gunmen hiding in a van.

Also killed were Guardsmen Graham Duggan, aged 22, and Kevin Johnson, aged 20.

Guardsman Ling is buried at St Mary Magdalene church in Sternfield, near Saxmundham.

The veterans taking part in the walk are members of the Suffolk branch of the regiment’s association.

Eight men in shorts and T-shirts
The walkers who will be taking part in the fundraising event. (Image: Grenadier Guards Regimental Association)

They will walk to Snape Maltings via Tunstall Forest before heading to Sternfield to pay tribute at his grave by laying a wreath, accompanied by members of Guardsman Ling’s family.

One of the organisers, Kevin Kitcher, said that money raised from the memorial walk would go to the Grenadier Guards regimental welfare charity the Colonel’s Fund, and the hope was that the walk could become an annual event.

Mr Kitcher said: “Glen was a Suffolk Grenadier and this is our way of honouring his memory and those who died alongside him.

“In remembering Glen in this way we hope to raise as much as we can for the Colonel’s Fund, which looks after our bereaved families and our wounded Grenadiers from combat.”

Councillor Gale said: “This is a fantastic way to honour a Suffolk soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of this country.“I would urge people to get behind these veterans and help raise money for a very worthy cause.”

Donations can be made via JustGiving.

Black and white image of army pall bearers carrying a coffin draped in a union flag outside a church.
Guardsman Ling’s coffin is carried into Sternfield church at his funeral service. (Image: Kenneth Goodall)

The Armed Forces Champion at Suffolk County Council is a councillor who supports and advocates for the armed forces community, ensuring they are not disadvantaged in accessing services, support, and opportunities.

For more details go to the Suffolk County Council website.

The Colonel’s Fund of the Grenadier Guards was established in 2007 under the patronage of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in the wake of the regiment’s first operational deployment to Afghanistan, during which 17 Grenadiers were killed and many more sustained serious, life-changing injuries.

Since then, the Fund has grown to support every Grenadier in need: those wounded in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, or Ulster, and those who have since come forward with complex PTSD and the invisible effects of blast trauma

.It provides long-term, comprehensive care that goes beyond what the military and NHS can offer alone.

For more details go to the regimental website.