A GROUP of soldiers marked World Mental Health Day on Wednesday when they completed a 270-mile march in memory of a comrade.

Led by Lieutenant Jim Roberts, the ten-strong band have walked from Catterick to Warminster.

The men from Alma Company, 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, have raised over £7,000 for charity Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Resolution. They wanted to raise awareness of PTSD after one of their colleagues, Private Reece Miller, committed suicide in June while on deployment in Estonia.

They set out from North Yorkshire on October 3 and arrived at the Battlesbury Barracks in Warminster on Wednesday (October 10).

Their seven-day journey was timed to finish on World Mental Health Day.

Each day they have ‘tactically advanced to battle’ (TAB) between 30-40 miles, each carrying 15kg (33lbs) day packs.

Lt Roberts said: “It has been non-stop laughs along the way. We’ve had some really good fun but we’ll be glad to finish.

“The camaraderie and humour have kept us going during the tough times. We’ve found the Wiltshire section to be really hilly.”

When they reached Warminster, the group celebrated with a couple of bottles of champagne.

They comprised Lt Roberts; Sgt Major Anthony Moore; Lance Corporals Robert Cochrane, Josh Meyer, Alex Harrison and Johnny Hainesworth; Corporal Michael Whitton, and Privates Adam Taylor, Kien Mather and Michael Shoesmith.

Lt Roberts said: “To help prevent anyone else from having to go through what his family and friends went through, we decided to help create an event to raise awareness of what serving and ex-soldiers may be going through.

“We have marched from the Vimy Barracks in Catterick to Warminster to mark Reece’s path from training to his last base.

“The aim is to help remove the stigma surrounding mental health and PTSD to try prevent others from following Reece’s path.”

Lance Corporal Hainesworth said: “Suicide is a major killer of the forces and PTSD and mental health is something that is hidden and not something which is usually out in the public view.

“We hope that doing this TAB for PTSD Resolution will give some support to those suffering with PTSD, so others won’t suffer a similar fate.”

The soldiers were met in Warminster by Pte Miller’s wife Emma, who thanked them.