Plymouth swimmer completes English Channel crossing for charity
Sergeant Lindsey Walke from Plymouth completed the “bucket-list” swim in memory of her beloved nan.
Lindsey, aged 49, took on the huge challenge to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society. Her reasons for supporting the charity come from a place close to her heart, in memory of her beloved late nan, Margaret Perriment.Margaret was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and sadly passed away in 2017. Now, during this month’s Forget Me Not Appeal, Lindsey wants to honour nan by raising money and awareness for the charity that supported her family throughout Margaret’s diagnosis.
The Tavistock police officer is an experienced open water swimmer. She has been training hard over the past few years to work her way up to the 21-mile endurance challenge. After initial delays due to weather conditions, Lindsey set off on Saturday 21 June to complete her “bucket-list” adventure.
Speaking about her efforts, Lindsey said: “I felt inspired to raise awareness for people affected by dementia after seeing what it’s like to live with the condition. In the years following my nan’s diagnosis, it was a challenging time.“My nan was such a special woman - she was like a second mum to me. When it got to the stage in her condition where she didn’t recognise who I was anymore, I found that really hard.“The swim has always been a dream of mine, and I knew if I did it I wanted to do it for a good cause. I want to raise money to help support people affected by dementia and support those living with the condition in future”. Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime. So far, Lindsey has raised over £3,000 for Alzheimer’s Society.
Alzheimer's Society Regional Fundraiser Claire Frost said:
“Lindsey is a wonderful advocate for Alzheimer’s Society and her attitude to raising awareness of dementia is amazing. By taking on this mammoth challenge and through all of her fundraising, she’s helping to make a life-changing difference to people living with dementia.
“Alzheimer’s Society provides vital support to people living with dementia, funds groundbreaking research and campaigns to make dementia the priority it should be.
“There are over 101,500 people living with dementia in the Southwest of England, but we simply can’t reach everyone without the continued support of our incredible fundraisers like Lindsey. The support she gives us in memory of her nan is inspiring”.
This June marks Alzheimer’s Society’s 2025 Forget Me Not Appeal, which aims to end the devastation caused by dementia. People across the South West can donate to support the appeal throughout June alzheimers.org.uk/forgetmenotappeal
Whoever you are, whatever you are going through, you can turn to Alzheimer’s Society for support, help and advice. Visit alzheimers.org.uk
