A GROUP of four friends who met whilst working at an oil refinery took on a 64-mile cycling challenge in aid of Wales Air Ambulance over the weekend.

Dave Moore, Derek “Dez” Nicholas, David “Bogie” Knight and Adam Murphy pulled on charity jerseys as they competed in the Black Rat Sportive on Sunday, May 17, 2026.

64-year-old Dave, who is retired and from Fishguard, says they chose the lifesaving service because it came to the aid of one of their riders.

He said: “Through the years we have supported dozens of charities in our region. I’ve always been into fitness challenges, competing in triathlons and marathons.

“When I was working at the Murco oil refinery we would rally a large number, we had around sixteen at one time. We would do everything from rowing events to cycling and running.

“We have supported Wales Air Ambulance in the past, but one of our group, David Knight, suggested that we make it the Charity of choice for this year’s fundraiser, because they came to his aid.”

David, who is known as “Bogie” among the biking community, suffered serious injuries after coming off his motorcycle after an incident on the A483 in 2000. He was travelling from Llandovery to an event in Builth Wells when he was involved in a head on collision with a car.

He said: “All I remember was hearing brakes squealing coming down the hill. It was so quick I didn’t have time to brake; I was travelling in my lane when the next thing I was airborne.

“My motorbike hit the car, I catapulted over the top of it and travelled a few yards down the road landing on a metal barrier, which had a massive drop down the side of the mountain. I was lucky I didn’t go over the top.”

He was travelling with two friends at the time, one had gone on ahead, but another rider who was an ex-firefighter was close behind.

The father of two said: “Tony could see the car was up against a metal barrier on the edge of the bend – my motorbike was half on the barrier and half on the car. He could not see me as he came up. He parked up and spotted me on the floor. I was pretty bashed up.”

Both the Wales Ambulance Service and Wales Air Ambulance attended. With David being flown to Glangwili Hospital. He required a spinal block to enable his leg to be straightened.

He also underwent surgery on his leg and hand, with pins inserted into his hip and knee to stabilise his broken femur and a wire inserted into his dislocated thumb.

He said: “It took six months for me to recover from my injuries. Just talking about it still makes me feel emotional, it’s the realisation of how lucky I was that day. It could have been so much worse.”

Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.

It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £13 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.

The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.

This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.

As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency critical care.

David said: “It’s incredible that the Charity must raise such a large amount each year to ensure the service keeps running.

“That’s why it feels very special doing our bit to help. We have already raised over £1.6k on our Go Fund Me page, and Impala will be match-funding the final total.”

The Black Rat Sportive is a cycle ride centred around the Wye Valley and Monmouthshire. Riders will cover 64-miles with about 3,600 feet of climbing.

Mike May, Wales Air Ambulance Regional Fundraising Manager said: “It’s always hugely inspiring to see our past patients making such an amazing recovery after suffering terrible injuries.

“We are grateful that David nominated us as the chosen Charity to benefit from the group’s  fundraiser at the Black Rat Sportive.

“Our Charity relies on fundraising activities like this to ensure that we can attend patients whenever and wherever they need us.

“Every pound raised this weekend will make a lifesaving difference. Diolch yn fawr!”

THE NIECE of a member of the crack stunt team who worked on the 1956 production of Moby Dick says she is thrilled that the movie is being celebrated by Fishguard’s Ar Ymyl y Tir/On Land’s Edge Festival in September – 70 years after its cinematic release.

Francesca Bosenius, of Llangwm, fondly recalls some of the escapades of her late “Uncle Ted” – Eduardo (‘Ted’) Palmieri – an accomplished horse rider and stuntman who worked on several top films.

He was immortalised in a famous scene from John Huston’s classic movie for his portrayal of the doomed lookout who loses his footing and plunges into the ocean from the Pequod’s top mast, never to re-surface.

Speaking after witnessing the scene for the first time, Francesca laughed as she said: “That was some drop! But then that’s just the sort of thing uncle Ted would do!

“The story that has been passed down through all of us all is that he apparently had to fall out of the crow’s nest, yet I’ve never found any mention of him in the film credits.

“My uncle was of Italian heritage. My grandparents came over to the UK around the time of the First World War and settled in the south London areas of Mitcham, Tooting and Balham. Uncle Ted was big into racing cars and he had an F M Car Sales showroom in Beckenham, Kent, at one time.One of his party tricks was driving down Streatham Hill in the 1960s in a sports car sat on the back of the driver’s seat steering with his feet!”

She continued: “He and my dad, one of his older brothers, knew the ‘Acid Bath Killer’, John Haig. We lived in Crawley at the time and, don’t ask me how they knew him, but they did. Uncle Ted was born in 1921 and sadly died in 2017. We all knew him as ‘Uncle Ted’ or ‘Uncle Teddy’.”

Another stuntman on Moby Dick was John Sullivan, who would go on to have a small, but memorable speaking role in the 1964 classic movie Zulu as the commander of a cavalry troop desperately fleeing the disaster at Isandhlwana.

During several months of filming in dangerous sea conditions off Fishguard, Sullivan worked alongside other uncredited stuntmen including Joe Powell, who would also appear in Zulu as Sgt Windridge.

According to local legend it was Sullivan who dived head-first from the top mast of the Pequod into the waters of Fishguard Bay in order to win a bet struck with director Huston on the last day of filming.

Other sources claim a local man named ‘Texas’ Jones also made the leap! 

Visit On Land’s Edge for further information.

HEALTH BOARD members are to be quizzed by Pembrokeshire councillors next month over changes to services at Withybush Hospital.

At the March meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, an emergency notice of motion by the council’s 11-strong Conservative Party group demanded that the Welsh Government immediately reverses the decision to cease emergency general surgery at Withybush Hospital.

Last year, Hywel Dda University Health Board consulted with its communities on options for change in critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, stroke, radiology and urology.

At a two-day meeting earlier this year, the board, amongst its many other decisions, backed changes into emergency general surgery which will see no emergency general surgery operations taking place at Withybush, but a strengthening of the same-day emergency care (SDEC).

At the March council meeting, the Conservative council group, led by Cllr Di Clements, proposed a motion which read: “This council requests that the Labour Welsh Government intervenes in Hywel Dda University Health Board’s recent decision to cease emergency general surgery at Withybush hospital and immediately reverses their decision.

“We believe removing this service critically undermines the sustainability of Withybush hospital’s A&E department.

“Also, the decision by the Health Board does not take into account the impact and potential serious risks it will have on Pembrokeshire residents.”

Cllr Clements’ supporting statement, which included a call for the-then Leader Cllr Jon Harvery to write to the First Minister and Welsh Government, said Pembrokeshire residents “have seen continual downgrading of services over the years, and this has been detrimental to all residents,” adding: “We believe this recent decision is life threatening to those who need emergency surgery and a matter of resident’s safety.”

At the meeting, Cllr Michael John said “there had been an erosion of services for many years,” supporting Cllr Clements’ call, but proposing the addition of calling on the health board to meet with councillors.

Following the request by Cllr Clements, Leader Cllr Jon Harvey agreed to any letter writing, saying he had “fought long and hard to return services to Withybush”.

Members backed Cllr Clements’ call, with Cllr John’s amendment added.

Since then an update was received at the May 14 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council.

A report for members said, following the March meeting, Cllr Harvey, wrote to the-then First Minister Eluned Morgan on March 10, with Chief Executive Will Bramble also writing to the chief executive of  Hywel Dda University Health Board advising him of council’s decision on the same date, requesting his and the Board chair’s attendance at the May council meeting.

It said, since then, Health Board Chair Dr Neil Wooding and Chief Executive Professor Phil Kloer have agreed to attend an Extraordinary Meeting of the council on June 15 to brief the council on service changes and specifically the issue of emergency general surgery, with members having the opportunity to ask questions on the presentation.

Members agreed to note the report ahead of the special June meeting.