48 MY GREENWICH


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I’m lucky in that I’ve always been active. I ran my first marathon when I was 62 – the London Marathon of course – and I did 16 of them in a row. I think in all my training I did over 22,000 miles. That’s not far off a lap of the globe! I was 18 when I was called up for service. I was working as a clerk at


Greenwich Town Hall at the time. I couldn’t swim when I was called up and the Navy didn’t teach me. I’ve learnt since, but they had a very literal sink-or-swim approach to the training. I was scared for many reasons. In those days you didn’t really go on holiday and I had never left Greenwich. I had originally signed up to be in the Air Force, but in those days you went


where you were told and where you were needed. No one was signing up for this particular Navy operation, so I did. I worked as a telegrapher and sailed on HMS Beachy Head. We were part of the operation to mine-sweep Singapore Bay after the Japanese surrender.


Life-long Greenwich resident Charles Medhurst, 87, likes a challenge – he joined the Navy without being able to swim and became a London Marathon regular at 62. Sian Meades meets a war veteran with more medals than most


Charles Medhurst with his collection of marathon medals


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