Colin Higham, Kevan Ball and Rob Taylor are in the middle of cycling 634 miles along the Western Front Way this month, with Russell Jones providing support.
The trail follows the historic frontline of the First World War, from the French-Swiss border to the beaches of Belgium.
The quartet reflected during a poignant moment, stood by the grave of Richard Nelson in the middle of rural France, hundreds of miles away from his home on Lee Lane, Horwich.
They said: “We thought this challenge was one of the hardest things we would have ever done, but then we met an English lady in our hostel who was walking from Canterbury to Rome, which put our task into perspective.
The lads at the grave of Richard Nelson (Image: Submitted) “Then we thought no matter how tough either challenge was, they pale in comparison to what those lads faced along this front in the First World War.
“On Monday we all stood together in a graveyard in the middle of rural France next to the remains of a lad who lives in a butcher’s shop at 201 Lee Lane, Horwich, a shop we have all walked past hundreds of times.
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“As we laid a Rivington and Blackrod School pennant by his headstone, we reflected on just how thankful we should be for the lives we now lead.”
The grave of Richard Nelson (Image: Submitted) The quartet are also raising money for three charities – the Royal British Legion, Children in Need and St Ann’s Hospice. To donate, click here: https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/alan-parkinson
As of Friday, June 16, they have completed 566 miles of the journey and have raised £2,455.
For more information on the Western Front Way, visit the Western Front Association’s website: https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/
The quartet, who will all turn 65 this year, met when they were schoolboys at Rivington and Blackrod School, and will visit the graves of 16 of the 24 young men from their old school who died during the war.
Colin Higham was struck by the idea after reading The Path of Peace: Walking the Western Front Way by Anthony Seldon.