A 37-year-old man who lost his brother to suicide is undertaking a gruelling 400-mile ultra endurance triathlon, including a 107-mile paddleboard from Liverpool to Birmingham, all in his memory.
Brother's tragic death
Harry Wentworth-Stanley, a trustee of James' Place, a charity providing free life-saving therapy to men across the UK, will begin the challenge on May 23. The event includes paddleboarding from Liverpool to Birmingham to raise funds for a fifth James' Place Centre.
This is not Harry's first fundraising feat. In 2016, he rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic with three friends, raising over £650,000, which enabled the first James' Place centre to open in Liverpool eight years ago. Since then, three more centres have opened, including one in Birmingham.
Harry, a director at a real estate investment management firm, took on his first challenge in memory of his brother, James Wentworth-Stanley, who died in December 2006 after taking his own life. James was 21 and studying at Newcastle University when he underwent a routine minor operation. He became anxious about the outcome and had suicidal thoughts. He visited a walk-in centre and was referred to A&E but was deemed low priority. After waiting several hours without being seen, he took his own life just ten days after the operation.
James' Place was founded by his parents, Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley, in his memory.
Harry's motivation
Harry said: 'Back in 2016, to mark 10 years since losing James to suicide, I rowed across the Atlantic with three incredible friends. Row For James helped fund the first James’ Place centre in Liverpool and I’m so proud that our charity has now helped over 5,100 men out of suicidal crisis. This year marks 20 years since James died, so I decided to set myself another challenge in his name – to raise £100,000 to help us open a fifth centre next year. I’m excited to travel between each of the centres, retracing the huge steps we’ve made in James’ memory. I hope I can do him proud.'
The challenge route
The 37-year-old will start at the Newcastle centre, where James was studying. He will then cycle 174 miles to James' Place Liverpool, paddleboard 107 miles to the newest centre in Birmingham, and run 135 miles to James' Place London, where the siblings grew up. Harry aims to complete the challenge in eight days and raise over £100,000 to kickstart fundraising for a fifth centre, set to open in 2027.
Money raised will help James' Place provide therapy to men in suicidal crisis in the North East, North West, London, and the West Midlands, and contribute to the opening of a new centre.
