Veteran, 70, walking 420 miles to cenotaph for military suicide awareness

A 70-year-old former British Army officer is embarking on a 420-mile walk to raise awareness around the "taboo" of military and veteran suicides. Andrew Marriott will start the challenge in West Linton, near Edinburgh, and will finish at the Cenotaph in central London where he will lay a poppy.

Mr Marriot, who served for 35 years, believes military families are left "in no man's land" and wants to see them receive additional support and recognition. He told the Express: "I sometimes feel a little bit like somebody in a First World War trench in the dark who can hear the cries from no man's land.

"And that's what it's like for a lot of the next-of-kin who have the shock of the suicide, and then they have to get on with their lives."

Mr Marriott, who served with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on operations across the world, is raising money for the National Memorial Arboretum.

The retired lieutenant colonel hopes his efforts could lead to a memorial at the site in Staffordshire for personnel and veterans who took their own lives.

Mr Marriott is also using his challenge as part of his long campaign against the anti-malaria drug Lariam being prescribed to British troops.

The drug, generic name mefloquine, has been linked to side effects including, anxiety, hallucinations, depression and suicide ideation - some of which Mr Marriott said he suffered from after taking the medication for a deployment to Sierra Leonne.

Last month, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reached an out-of-court settlement with hundreds of veterans who reported experiencing side effects after being prescribed Lariam.

The MoD introduced a new policy on prescribing anti-malarial drugs in 2016 following an inquiry by the Commons Defence Select Committee.

The vast majority of service personnel are not prescribed Lariam and when it is prescribed, it should only be after a face-to-face medical assessment and an alternative anti-malarial has been offered.

Latest MoD figures show Lariam was prescribed four times between October 2024 and March 2025.

An MoD spokesperson said: "We take the health and welfare of our personnel very seriously, taking every possible precaution to ensure their safety - including protecting them against malaria, a potentially fatal disease.

"We take malaria prevention advice from the UK Health Security Agency who, like other respected bodies, recommends mefloquine as an effective form of prevention."

Mr Marriott, from North Yorkshire, is set to walk on average 20 miles per day during the fundraiser and is hoping to reach the finish line on September 19.

So far, he has already raised more than £6,700 on his Just Giving page.

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