Pembroke Dock veteran, 72, sets off on 100 mile solo walk

Army veteran, Margaret ‘Marg’ Davies, aims to cover 10-15 miles per day and is dedicating her journey to her late uncle, Corporal W G Mauvan Jenkins.

She set off from Amroth on Thursday, April 25, finishing next Thursday. May 2, at Lawrenny.

Marg was born in 1951 in Pembroke Dock where her father owned shoe shops in Meyrick Street. Marg attended Albion Square Junior School and Pembroke Grammar School.

Marg joined the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) as an officer cadet in 1971. After training at Camberley, she served as a recruit training platoon officer at the WRAC Centre in Guildford, then moved on to Germany, and finally to Lincolnshire, where she finally served with The Welsh Gunners, 22nd Light Air Defence Regiment, Royal Artillery who had been stationed at one time at Llanion Barracks.

After serving a five-year short service commission, Marg decided to embark upon a new chapter in life, retraining as a primary school teacher and spent 28 years teaching at primary schools in Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire.

In 2007 and 2017 Marg was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer and treatment.

During some of the darker days of her recovery, the camaraderie and support of her WRAC Association friends and colleagues proved invaluable.

“The comradeship and support that they and the association gave helped (and still helps) me to fight the demons that a life-threatening illness can produce,” she said.

Marg found she had become more sedentary during the years of her breast cancer treatment so she looked for a new outlet.

She had always loved walking but decided to challenge herself and plan a long- distance walk’.

“My father, Tom Davies, was a great walker,” she said. “Growing up in Pembroke Dock, we were ‘pioneers’, walking the first, newly carved routes which became the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path.

“After being given the all-clear, I realised life is too precious to waste, or to put things off,” she said.

Once Marg started walking again, she immediately found being out in the fresh air helped keep her fit, but, more crucially, it supported her mental wellbeing. She started planning longer routes and setting herself tougher challenges, and for each of the last 10 years, she has undertaken a solo 100-mile walk.

Each time, she raises funds for the WRAC Association, as well as other causes that are important to her.

This year Marg’s walk will see her return to her roots in Pembrokeshire and also raise funds for the VC Gallery.

Marg is dedicating the walk to her late uncle, Corporal William George Mauvan Jenkins.

“The family all knew that my Uncle Jenkins had been awarded the Military Medal, but we didn’t quite realise the magnitude of his bravery,” she said.

“He never spoke about the events that led to his receipt of the medal, which were quite traumatic. This year, I want to honour my uncle, but also highlight the importance of reaching out and getting the right mental health support.”

Marg intends her walk to take in many of the castles and fortifications of South Pembrokeshire.

She has discovered around 25 different sites, ranging from virtually eroded Iron Age promontory forts through to medieval castles and the many stone forts, blockhouses and gun towers that were built to protect the Haven.

“In deference to my ageing knees, I’ll be choosing the flattest routes I can find - not an easy task in south Pembrokeshire,” she said.

You can donate to Marg’s fundraising page on donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/margs-pembrokeshire-100-mile-2024  and you can follow Marg’s walk and read about her previous ones via her blog margdavieswalks.blogspot.com.