Driving a Jaguar F-Type SVR across Europe in 10 days for Rally for Heroes

Driving for ten days across ten countries to raise funds and awareness for charity is a formidable challenge, and that is exactly what engineering degree apprentice Henry Henshall has achieved for Rally for Heroes.

The soon-to-be electrical engineer and his co-driver Ben Donaldson took on the 3,000 mile challenge in a 200mph Jaguar F-Type SVR, as they commemorated the soldiers who lost their lives during the Afghanistan conflict.

The rally, a biennial event which saw 110 people in 54 cars taking part, raised more than £130,000 for the armed forces charity Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA). This year's event was the fifth rally taking the total amount raised across each rally to more than £525,000.

Henry said: “To have raised so much money was amazing. The driving was the biggest challenge because of the number of hours we spent on the road, hence we kept changing drivers frequently.

“We clocked a total driving time of more than 70 hours and it was knackering, but the point of the rally was never to race or win. It was all about trying to bring people in, get them involved and raise awareness for the charity.”

Talking animatedly about the adventure, Henry was keen to thank a number of colleagues who helped support him, with colleagues from across SVO, finance, insurance, marketing and the armed forces partnership teams all getting involved.

On the day of departure from Horse Guards Parade, London, Henry found himself sat with a collection of very special cars. These included several McLarens, Aston Martins and Mercedes AMGs, but the F-Type SVR was the only Jaguar on the trip, and it received a huge amount of attention as the rally travelled through France, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Germany and Luxembourg.

He added: “At each of the destinations, there was a chance for people to come and see the cars, drawing more people in to hear about the charity and the fundraising. This is when you start to realise why you are there, what you are doing and how you are directly helping people.

“That is why the Jaguar was the perfect car for the rally. It has such a strong presence which draws people in the same way as the McLarens and Maseratis. It was definitely a crowd favourite.”

Along the way the Rally for Heroes convoy attended numerous events including a remembrance service with the British Ambassador to Bosnia, Edward Ferguson, and delivering pre-made gift boxes full of toys and goodies to Los Rosales Center for Children and Youth with Special Needs in the city of Mostar.

Overall, the experience proved to be an exciting yet humbling one for Henry, as the visits to SSAFA and Bosnia provided timely reminders of the devastating effect war can have on people.

Watch the short round-up video of the 2018 Rally for Heroes adventure.

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