piper
£10.00
Recent donations
Sarah
£10.00
Amazing job both.
Anonymous
£10.00
Karl Jones
£50.00
Victoria Pitt
£20.00
Keep going both!! And don't stop after camp!
Sammie W
£10.00
+ £2.50 Gift Aid
Amazing job both, keep going!!!
Victoria Pitt
£20.00
Keep it up! Xx
Jake & Robyn
£20.00
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Keep you the hard work mate
Paul Randall
£10.00
+ £2.50 Gift Aid
Keep going guys! You will smash it!
Stuart Weatherhog
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+ £2.50 Gift Aid
Well done both
Operation: AT25
Event dates: –
Thomas Cleverley & Owen Gardner are raising money for The Ulysses Trust
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Our story
BLUF:
Two Army Cadet CFAV's pledge to get fitter and lose weight in order to raise awareness of The Ulysses Trust and hopefully raise some money to help pay for a Cadet's Adventurous Training pursuits. With a comedic twist...
The Story:
Two Army Cadet instructors, Thomas (SSI Cleverley) & Owen (SI Gardner) were helping supervise LNR ACF's Annual Camp Adventurous Training Package when a discussion was struck about how they wished they were fit enough to take part in the activities and how much it would benefit the cadets to have the instructors take part and build even further memories.
At this point, a pact was made, with the gesture of a hand-shake agreement, that Operation: AT25 was going ahead....
What is Operation: AT25?
Operation: AT25 was the nickname Thomas & Owen jokingly called their weight loss idea... Dedicating a year to self-improvement so they could, in turn, make the Army Cadets a more enjoyable experience for the cadets by being able to share in some life-long memories, alongside them. The idea is simple... Surf through the embarrassment of their weight gain over numerous years, and come together for a common goal of a healthier weight by Annual Camp 2025 finishing the story with Thomas & Owen taking part in (some of) the Adventurous Training Package on LNR ACF's Annual Camp 2025. The main aim, to raise money for The Ulysses Trust, alongside their own personal development, so that TUT can continue their amazing work helping the less fortunate take part in AT activities via funding.
Additional:
They will challenge themselves to achieve a goal, to simply lose as much weight as possible, while being controlled so it doesn't become dangerous for either person. Their end objective, is to raise money for The Ulysses Trust, which you can see more information on the following link:
Pictures will be shared and a story will be told via their Facebook Page & GiveAsYouLive page every week, with a big update coming monthly. We hope you support Thomas & Owen during their journey, as they have pledged to put everything they can into this story. There will be continual updates on their progress, and every achievement, embarrassing moment and disaster will be shown via their story.
The ultimate goal is £500.00, and with your help this can become a reality. - Please do not give more than you can afford, times are tough for everyone, but every donation and share on social media is worth more than anything else.
Thanks for reading, it's greatly appreciated.
All the best,
Thomas & Owen
Thank you for checking out our page. Making a donation is fast, easy and secure thanks to Give as you Live Donate. They'll take your donation and pass it onto The Ulysses Trust.
Our updates
UPDATE 18/07/2025 - 2 WEEKS TO GO!!!
Well, Owen (SI Gardner) has decided to go on Holiday... How selfish... Kidding mate, enjoy yourself. Leaving just Thomas to sweat it out in the gym for now... Let's see what's going on below...
Thomas: Starting Weight: 147kg (Goal 101kg) NOW: 105.9kg.
(Total loss of 41.1kg)
With ONLY 2 weeks until the start of Camp... What's it looking like for Thomas?
Thomas: 2.45kg per week needed for 2 weeks to reach his goal.
TIME TO BE UP FRONT AND HONEST... (Thomas / SSI Cleverley)
This challenge has been a huge struggle for me personally, and has tested my resolve in ways I didn't know possible. I am a little down that reaching my goal (despite it not being a "hard target") is looking unachievable before camp now... I am not going to give up on trying and pushing myself...
If someone told me when we were jokingly making this plan last camp, after running away from the watersports package and eating a sneaky Fish & Chips that I would lose 40kg**(+)** and be in the best shape of my ADULT life, I would've laughed and called you a liar...
It's not been easy, and I believe a touch of body dysmorphia is starting to settle in, which I am talking to the right people about, and naturally, I am finding more and more fault with myself as time is going on, but positivity is infectious... Apparently.
Two of the hardest things includes not knowing what size I'm going to be in clothes tomorrow... And of course, the excess skin is starting to form. (Don't worry, no graphics) I'm trying a few things to combat but it's not great on the mental health... Still, MUCH better than I have been before, and we will keep moving forward!!
Summary:
A HUGE thank you to the people who crack the "invisible man" jokes, and the constant stream of support from everyone, it really is appreciated. We are £25.00 off our £300.00 mark, so if you could share, like or help us reach it, that would be amazing! Thank you all.
3 WEEKS TO GO... (11/07/2025 Update)
It's getting to that time of the year in the ACF where the heat it cranking up, as is the pressure to sort Annual Camp kit, get Cadets prepared for what lays ahead and of course, keep morale as high as possible!! The 30 Degree heat is making things much harder, BUT we move forward...
Thomas: Starting Weight: 147kg (Goal 101kg) NOW: 107.5kg.
(Total loss of 39.5kg)
Owen: Starting Weight: 129kg (Goal: 85kg) NOW: 110.0kg.
(Total loss of 19.0kg)
With ONLY 3 weeks until the start of Camp... What's it looking like for Thomas & Owen?
Thomas: 2.17kg per week needed for 3 weeks to reach his goal.
Owen: 8.4kg per week needed for 3 weeks to reach his goal.
Realistically, it's going to be close for Thomas to hit the goal, which is pushing him forward, but ultimately, understands if he falls short.
That is not to take away anything from the achievements of both, weight loss is NOT a straight line with a perfect answer, with general life, mental health, personal dilemmas and other dramas kicking off, nobody is a machine that can be programmed for perfection. This has been to raise some money for a wonderful charity and push the lads on... It was never going to be a game or a contest between the two.
Ultimately, both are feeling and looking a lot better, and have raised money (HIT THE GOAL OF £250.00, then £275.00 for TUT, which is amazing!!)
The final goal is £300.00 and won't move again, it would be amazing if we could hit it, so if you could like & share, that would be awesome! We'd love to smash that £300.00 marker!!
Finally, another huge thank you to everyone who has supported in any way, from financially, to words of encouragement, you've been invaluable!!
04th July 2025 Update
After a LONG and HOT Priority Weekend in the Field with the 2* Cadets, (which Thomas & Owen were actually together but neglected to take a picture to commemorate the occasion, bad drills) both have still been plugging away... Let's see what the latest update is...
Thomas: Starting Weight: 147kg (Goal 101kg) NOW: 109.5kg.
(Total loss of 37.5kg)
Owen: Starting Weight: 129kg (Goal: 85kg) NOW: 111.5kg.
(Total loss of 17.5kg)
With ONLY 4 weeks until Annual Camp 2025... How far can they realistically get??
Thomas: 2.13kg per week needed for 4 weeks to reach his goal.
Owen: 6.61kg per week needed for 4 weeks to reach his goal.
We are growing in confidence and are much healthier than we were before, this was always to raise awareness of the UT and we would like to think, regardless of the result we have achieved that!
HOPEFULLY you will see us out on the Water on AC25, which will be updated here.
A huge thank you for the continued donations, and we will continue with weekly updates until we get to Annual Camp! We are close to our goal, so if anyone could like and share, that would be a huge help for this amazing charity! Thank you!
Friday 27th June 2025 Update...
Another update, another weigh-day!! We have decided to go back to WEEKLY as we are only 5 WEEKS away from Annual Camp now!!!
Both Thomas and Owen are pushing through personal barriers at the moment, and motivation is there, but we all know about how life can get in the way... (Especially with the HEAT at the moment!!)
Let's see the scores-on-the-doors so to speak...
Thomas: Starting Weight: 147kg (Goal 101kg) NOW: 112.0kg.
(Total loss of 35.0kg)
Owen: Starting Weight: 129kg (Goal: 85kg) NOW: 112.9kg.
(Total loss of 16.1kg)
ONLY 5 weeks until Annual Camp 2025... How far can they realistically get??
Thomas: 2.2kg per week needed for 5 weeks to reach his goal.
Owen: 5.60kg per week needed for 5 weeks to reach his goal.
As mentioned before, this is NOT a "must achieve" target and it's purely for motivation.
Ultimately, it's the final hurdles now... With our Pre-Camp weekend this weekend and time running out, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to keep up with working routines, so all effort is a good effort!!
Again, thank you all for your donations, we would LOVE to reach our target, so please do keep them coming... And again, thank you for the continuing kind words in person... It means a lot to us both!
Friday 13th June 2025 Update...
There was no update for Owen last time round, as we let him off for a number of reasons, but he's back with a new weight this time round... See below!!!
Thomas: Starting Weight: 147kg (Goal 101kg) NOW: 115.5kg.
(Total loss of 31.5.0kg)
Owen: Starting Weight: 129kg (Goal: 85kg) NOW: 114.7kg.
(Total loss of 14.3kg)
Let's see how the lads need to perform to meet their "target"...
7 weeks until Annual Camp 2025... How far can they realistically get??
Thomas: 2.1kg per week needed for 7 weeks to reach his goal.
Owen: 4.25kg per week needed for 7 weeks to reach his goal.
Both are pushing hard in their own ways to get to their goal, but MAINLY for themselves and their own health... Both Thomas and Owen are much happier in themselves, finding mobility they didn't have before and wearing clothes they have not been able to put on for a LONG time...
7 Weeks is still a LONG way to go and a lot can change in that time, let's see what the next fortnight brings... Both have decided there may be an operation AT26... But watch this space...
Once again, a huge thanks to those that continue to support us through this journey and have donated, it means a lot... We have changed the final amount to reflect on a more realistic target. You support is invaluable, thank you all.
Charity
The Ulysses Trust
Charity number: 1170600
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