Armed Forces Day 2010

This event took place on the 27th June 2010 for Armed Forces Day, and was the second year the event has taken place. This event was even bigger and better than last year's, we had glorious weather and an overwhelming attendance.

A huge thanks to all who attended and supported us on the day - the event was a great success. You helped us raise £4529 which is being donated to Armed Forces Charities.

Our special thanks go to the Hells Angels MC, Tyne & Wear and Selgovae MC for their ongoing support and for organising the ride in from the club house.

Thanks also go to Councillor James Sewell, Deputy Mayor of South Tyneside Council and his wife, South Tyneside Council (including Mark Young), JR Adams Transport, Lord Hire Centres South Shields, NODA Taxis, Taylor Packaging, Spennymoor BikeSure Insurance and Twin City Motorcycles

The day began at Hells Angels Club House in Sunderland, with a ride in to Bents Park with almost 200 motorbikes.

There was plenty to see and do on the day with a Custom Bike Show, Scooters and Trikes, and the Hot Rods from the North East Streetrod Club. There were hundreds of bikes in the 'bike car park' which in themselves were an incredible sight.

Yesterday's Heroes were in attendance with their military vehicles and memorabilia. We also had a climbing wall which was busy all day, and a great vantage point to see the full show. Easy Wheelie Simulator was there to let people experience a wheelie, and also the Military Paintball Firing Range. Funfair rides for the children and the hottest day of the year so far!!!

There was live entertainment on throughout the day from The Volts, New Found Paradise, TT Blue, Sounds of the 60's, LPS Trios, Sound Wave and also the Cadets Brass Band.

Thanks again to everyone for a fantastic fundraising amount, this will help our Armed Forces.

A video of the bikes leaving Sunderland, courtesy of Dave (from youtube)

Armed Forces Day 2011

The 3rd annual Armed Forces Day was held once again at Bent’s Park on South Shields sea front on 26th June 2011. The weather was a repeat of last year…. hot and sunny from morning till night!

A huge thanks to everyone who attended and supported us on the day, it helped make the day a great success, you helped us raise in excess of £7000!! which will be donated to Support our Soldiers Charity and other smaller forces related charities.

Our special thanks go to Hell’s Angels MC Tyne & Wear and Selgovae MC for their ongoing support and for organising the ride in, also special thanks go to The Armed Forces Veterans for marshalling the ride, ensuring everyone arrived safely. A big thank you to the North East Coalition of Motor Cycle Clubs for their ongoing support in everything we do.

Thanks also to The Military Personnel, Cadets Forces, Councillor James Sewell the Mayor of South Tyneside and his family for their attendance, South Tyneside Council, JR Adams Transport (Newcastle), Lord Hire Centres South Shields, Burnt Tree Vehicle Hire

The day began with the ‘ride in’ from Hell’s Angels Club House in Sunderland to Bents Park. This was one of the biggest rides to be held in the North East with more than 500 motorbikes taking part. There was plenty to see and do on the day with custom shows for bikes, trikes and scooters. The North East Streetrod Club were also there to show off their custom cars.

Yesterday’s Heroes fascinated the crowds with their WW11 re-enactment and displays of military vehicles, memorabilia and weapons. There was also plenty for the kids with funfair rides, face painting and street entertainers. They could sit in the huge army truck or have a go on the climbing tower. Live entertainment all day included The Arrival, Waiting for Friday, Dirty South and Sounds of the 60s as well as the Durham Army Cadet Force Brass Band.

Thanks once again to everyone for a fantastic fund raising amount, this will help our Armed Forces and their families.

A short video of the 2011 ride into Bent's Park.

Armed Forces Day 2012

Sunday 24th June marked our 4th annual Armed Forces Day. Unfortunately this year the weather was not a repeat of last years (hottest day of the year), we were greeted with sunshine (honest….it did show a few times) showers, torrential rain, thunder and lightening but nothing stops the BadLanders from putting on a good show!!

Huge thanks to everyone who attended and despite the weather we still managed to raise a magnificent £5000!! £4000 of which will be donated to Support Our Soldiers charity and £1000 to the Personnel Recovery and Assessment Centre at Catterick (PRAC)

Our special thanks go to The Lord Lieutenant of Tyne & Wear Nigel Sherlock, Mayor of South Tyneside Cllr Eileen Leaske, Reverend Paul Kennedy. Thanks also to Hell’s Angels MC Tyne & Wear and Selgovae MC for their ongoing support. A big thank you to the North East Coalition of Motor Cycle Clubs for their support in everything we do.

A special mention also to the MOD for their contribution of £1700 which enabled us to buy additional tents for the event, JR Adams Transport (Newcastle), Lord Hire Centres South Shields and Burnt Tree Vehicle Hire.

As usual the day kicked off with the ‘ride in’ from Hell’s Angels HQ in Sunderland along the seafront into the park with around 200 bikes, scooters & trikes. Next came the highlight of the day…….the troops marching in! Once inside the park there was plenty to see and do including kiddies fun fair, tombola, ‘balloon man’ climbing tower and live music. There was also WWII re-enactment club Yesterdays Heroes, North East Street Rods and loads more.

Once again it was a truly memorable day, a fantastic fund raising event so thanks to everyone who contributed to making it a huge success.

Armed Forces Day 2012 - one of the wettest bike shows on record!

Armed Forces Day 2013

The 5th Armed Forces Day took place on 23rd June 2013. The day started with a cavalcade of 250 bikes riding along the seafront followed by the troops and pipe bands.

We were entertained by The Rock Choir and 99th Garrison followed by local rock bands who kept the music going all day. Despite the occasional ‘shower’ (did I mention torrential rain?) we managed to raise the magnificent sum of £7046! This amount has been donated to Armed Forces charities.

Support Our Soldiers, our chosen charity have received £5046. SOS looks after and gives support to the families of local armed forces men and women serving abroad as well as sending shoe boxes full of goodies to serving personnel mostly in Afghanistan, for which they are extremely grateful.

The remainder was donated to Help For Heroes specifically to be used at Phoenix House which is based within Catterick Garrison. This is a recovery centre for those who have suffered from life changing injuries and illnesses while serving our country and enable them to lead active, independent and fulfilling lives.

2013 - another bike show with torrential rain! We did have fine weather for quite a lot of the show, but boy when it rained it RAINED!!!!

Armed Forces Day 2014

Sunday 22nd June 2014 saw our 6th annual Armed Forces Day which was welcomed by warm sunny weather. After a cavalcade of bikes (300+ this year) we had the troops followed by pipes & drums marching into the park to the applause of 100s of spectators.

Throughout the day we were entertained by The Rock Choir, 99th Garrison then by local rock bands and a performance by JayBe. There was plenty to see including military displays & vehicles, custom shows & classic cars.

Thanks to the support of local businesses, South Tyneside Council, the North East Coalition of Motor Cycle Clubs and the thousands of visitors the day was a huge success.

Thanks to that generosity, we were able to present a cheque to our chosen charity Support Our Soldiers for a massive £10,000!!

A notable event on the day was a visit from The Patriots, a group of bikers who are all ex/ serving armed forces men & women who were from all over the UK as well as Germany, Netherlands, Holland, Belgium, Canada & Australia!

Armed Forces Day 2015

Once again the crowds turned out for our 7th annual Armed Forces Day and thanks to the generosity of all who attended, this year we are able to donate £7000 to Support Our Soldiers Charity which means since our 1st AFD in 2009 we have donated the magnificent sum of £42,000 to SOS just from these events!

It began with the spectacular sight of 100s of motorbikes, trikes, and scooters riding along the seafront into Bents Park followed by the troops, veterans, pipes & drums and a brass band. After a short service and the ‘last post’ the fun began with a performance by The Rock Choir then JayBe. The entertainment carried on throughout the day with live music. There was also a kiddie’s funfair, lots of trade and charity stands, custom shows and military vehicles. We also had on display, a WW1 tank as well as a display by Yesterday’s Heroes.

Our special thanks go to The North East Coalition of Motorcycle Clubs for their support. Thanks also go to South Tyneside Council Events Team, The Lord Mayor & Mayoress of South Tyneside, Lord Hire Centre South Shields, NE Radio Communications, Arnold Clark Vehicle Rentals

2015 - Ride in and bands marching into Bents Park

Armed Forces Day 2016

Armed Forces Day 2016 was an another amazing success - you helped raise over £10,000 which was donated to Armed Forces charities

Thousands of people turned out to see hundreds of motorcyclists kick off the day with a ride in along the seafront, followed by the troops and bands marching into Bents Park, South Shields. This was followed by an open air church service which ended with a two minute silence and the national anthem. The action-packed day had hundreds of stunning motorbikes on show, classic cars, scooters, live bands all day, street entertainers, stormtroopers and other heroes and villains, face painting, funfair and loads more! All raising loads of money for Armed Forces charities.

Armed Forces Day 2017

Armed Forces Day 2017 saw the hottest day of the year so far which drew out the crowds and the motorbikes. We are still receiving a few donations so the total amount raised will be announced shortly.

There were hundreds of bikes in the biggest ride in so far, it took around 30 minutes from the first bike arriving into the park until the last bike arrived! This was followed by the troops and bands marching from Gypsies Green into Bents Park, South Shields. There was a very moving open air church service which ended with a silence and the national anthem.

Arnold Clark then presented Support our soldiers with a van that they have use of for three years for their events and fundraising, this was a huge surprise and Elaine Middlemiss was overwhelmed with their generosity and kindness. The day was then followed with loads of family fun and live bands and the custom bike, trike, scooter and car show and the day rocked to a close with the rock choir.

Click the buttons below to access more photos from 2017 on facebook:

Armed Forces Day 2018

You helped raise over £10,000

Click on the buttons below to view more photos from 2018 on facebook.

Armed Forces Day 2019