TWO GWENT brothers will recreate the historic 1839 Chartist March tomorrow (Wed) to help raise money for St David’s Hospice Care.

Marc and Christopher Benger, from Wattsville, hope to raise £1,000 when they follow the 21.3 mile route from the Heads of the Valley into Newport, having previously climbed the Three Peaks for the charity.

The starting point for the march will be the war memorial park in Rhymney before it passes through New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Blackwood, Abercarn, Crosskeys, Risca and Rogerstone. With pit stops en route, the march is scheduled to take a whopping nine hours.

The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rebellion against the authority in Great Britain. On November 4,1839, somewhere between 1,000 and 5,000 Chartist sympathisers, led by John Frost, marched on the town of Newport.

The charter they backed called for a vote for every man aged 21 who was of sound mind and not undergoing punishment for crime; the ballot —to protect the elector in the exercise of his vote; no property qualification for MPs; the payment of MPs; equal constituencies securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors; and annual parliaments. 

Warehouse manager Christopher Benger, 36, said that he was keen to highlight the Chartists' sacrifice after seeing Michael Sheen follow the same route for a BBC Wales documentary last year.

He said: “People definitely don’t know enough about it. The young people don’t and that’s a shame.

“It’s a patriotic thing as well. I’ve talked to some people at work and they don’t have a clue what I’m on about.

“The Chartists went through pretty difficult conditions to get there. Me and my brother know about it because we were taught it in school. 

“We’re best friends really so it will be good to have him along to keep morale high. He’s funny in his own little way.”

Tania Ansell, community fundraiser for St David’s Hospice Care, said: “We are very proud of the walkers who are taking part in the Chartist walk on Wednesday. 

“The group are very passionate about their heritage but are also mindful of the need to support local charities. 

“We are extremely grateful they have chosen to support St David’s Hospice Care through this challenge and we hope the weather holds up for them.”

The pair will be joined by family and friends on the march and fellow fundraisers are welcome to come along if they raise a minimum of £50 for the charity.

For more information or to get in touch with Marc and Chris, email chris.benger@yahoo.co.uk. To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/chartist-march.