Olympian were proud to sponsor the RM Charity Dinner at The Guildhall last night.
The dinner was compered by former Royal Marine and BBC News presenter JJ Chalmers, and featured a speech by General Sir Gordon Messenger, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, plus performances by the Royal Marines Band Service. A live auction conducted by renowned auctioneer Nick Bonham, combined with a silent auction, raised a total of £385,650.
The dinner’s auction included a bust by British sculptor Ben Dearnley of Mark Ormrod, the former Marine and triple amputee who has won several medals including two gold at the Invictus Games. Selling for £38,000, it was purchased by the Gosling Foundation and donated to the Royal Marines Museum. A Royal Marines experience in Norway sold for a staggering £130,000, while the sale of Mark Ormrod’s Bremont watch, which sold last year for £25,000 and was returned to its previous owner, went under the hammer again, this time raising £30,000 but once more found itself back on Mark’s wrist at the end of the evening.
Commemorating 100 years since the Armistice, the RM Charity dinner raised nearly £1M overall on the night, making it the largest fundraising event the charity has ever done.