University graduates swim Channel for Bowel Cancer UK in memory of late friends
21st July 2022
University of Gloucestershire graduates Gail Taylor and Teresa Hogsbjerg have swum the Channel in memory of two of their best friends, raising thousands of pounds for Bowel Cancer UK.
Gail and Teresa lost one of their close university friends, Claire Stinchcombe, aged 30, to bowel cancer, then soon after that another of Gail’s closest friends, Natalie Thomson-Humphris, died from the disease at the age of 31.
Friends for more than 20 years, after meeting while playing women’s rugby at the University, Gail and Teresa decided they would swim the Channel together in memory of their late friends.
They were accompanied by the crew of a small fishing boat who were tasked with navigating them safely across the channel, which is considered the world’s busiest shipping lane.
With each swimming for one hour and then letting the other take over, Gail and Teresa reached the shores of France just over 15 hours after setting off from Dover – raising nearly £9,000 for Bowel Cancer UK so far in the process. You can find out more about this story on the University website.