Team to run Great Bristol Half Marathon in aid of RAF Benevolent Fund as tribute to RAF nurse

A team of RAF and Army personnel are running the Great Bristol Half Marathon to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund, in memory of an RAF nurse who served on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sgt Carrianne Franks passed away in August 2021 at just 30 years old. Carrianne used to take part in the Great Bristol Half Marathon, raising money for the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF’s leading welfare charity, so the run, on 25 September, is seen as a fitting tribute to her. 

Carrianne dedicated her working life to the service of her country; she was a proud Sergeant Nurse and member of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service, serving overseas and on an Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron to bring injured soldiers, airmen and sailors home. More recently she worked at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, working tirelessly to help those affected by Covid-19.  

The RAF runners comprise members from RAF Waddington, in Lincolnshire and RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire. 

RAF Waddington-based Sgt Aran Atkinson, who was Carrianne’s partner, is also taking part albeit remotely. 

He said: "I am most looking forward to is doing something positive in Carrianne’s memory that she would have been proud of, trying to promote the good work that she did for the RAF Benevolent Fund, while she was alive, to hopefully remind people of that rather than her passing."

The runners have so far raised more than £800.

In full, they include: Hollie Grimes, Jake Franks, Aran Atkinson, Cait Calvert, Hayley Needes, Kaisy Hindley, Andrea Snape, Beth Yates, Chris Matthews, Andy Crawford, Robin Hugill, James Rees, Rach Davis, Lara Jones, Becky Williams and Sharon Wheeler 

To support the team’s fundraising visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/raf-bf-bristol-half-marathon.

Find out more about doing your own fundraising in memory of a loved one here.