Veterans mark VE Day with swimathon covering 80 lengths weekly over two months

A blind veteran and her friend have swum 80 lengths each every week since February to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Sheila Botley, 50, who was formerly a sergeant for the Royal Logistic Corps in the Army for 24 years, and her best friend Lance Williams, 78, who served 12 years as a senior aircraftsman for the Royal Air Force, have overcome disabilities and health conditions to complete their swimathon for the VE Day anniversary.

Their challenge began on February 27, and they each committed to swimming a total of 80 lengths every week at the Wales National Pool Swansea before finishing their challenge on Tuesday.

The number of lengths was chosen to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Sheila Botley and Lance Williams (right) pictured with Wayne Jenkins, the chief executive of the Swansea Veterans Hub (Lance Williams/PA)

The two also created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the Swansea Veterans Hub, which supports veterans and their families.

Ms Botley, from Aberavon in Wales, is registered as visually impaired and joked she felt like a “human ping pong” when she entered the pool at the start of the challenge.

“I had to get assistance into the pool and out of the pool, and once I was in the pool I was like a human ping pong bouncing off the ropes,” Ms Botley told the PA news agency.

The duo, who became friends after meeting at the Swansea Veteran Hub, admitted they did not train ahead of their challenge and said on some occasions they had to walk the remaining lengths that they could not swim.

“The pain that we were both in was absolutely awful, but we just bit the bullet and got on with it,” Ms Botley said.

Mr Williams, from Swansea, said their shared sense of humour helped them to overcome the challenge and persevere until the end.

“Sheila is smashing company, such a good sense of humour, very similar to mine, and we just bounce off each other, and we laughed through the aches and the pains,” he told PA.

Ms Botley added: “I couldn’t think of a better true friend to do this challenge with.”

After their time in the forces, the duo sought help from the Swansea Veterans Hub, which offers support with housing, jobs and other essentials, something they said acted as a lifeline for them.

“It’s a life and death sort of thing,” Mr Williams said.

“There have been occasions when the hub has done the vital good thing of supporting somebody who is not too stable through one reason or another, such as PTSD, or family circumstances.”

Ms Botley added: “(The hub) has got contacts we don’t necessarily get told about when we get out of the forces. They can open doorways.

“You can be on a downer before you go in, and when you go through that door your spirits are just lifted.”

They described themselves as “proud members of the hub” and said they feel honoured to raise money for the community that supported them post-service, all while coinciding with the VE Day anniversary.

“It was an honour to get together with one of my best friends and shoulder to shoulder through this challenge for such a worthy cause and commemorate such a worthy anniversary,” Ms Botley said.

Both veterans hope their challenge will inspire people living with disabilities to find the confidence to take on new challenges.

“One thing that springs to mind is what Sheila says. She says it doesn’t matter what your disability is, you’re still capable of doing it, but you learn to do it a different way,” Mr Williams said.

It was an honour to get together with one of my best friends and shoulder to shoulder through this challenge for such a worthy cause and commemorate such a worthy anniversary

Sheila Botley, army veteran

“The fact that she is blind, it’s mind-boggling that she has done all of this.”

Ms Botley added: “Firstly, you’ve got to want to do it. Nothing is handed to you on a plate, so you’ve got to want to do something to overcome something.

“There is no right or wrong way of getting over a hurdle. No matter how long it takes you to achieve what you want, you can achieve anything.”

So far, the pair have raised over £700 of their £2,000 target. To find out more about Mr Williams and Ms Botley’s fundraiser, you can visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sheila-lances-80th-anniversary-of-ve-day-swimathon