An Oxfordshire man has completed a remarkable paddleboard journey across the English Channel, raising £15,000 for childhood cancer research in memory of his 10-year-old niece.
John Bartlett, 56, from Garsington, took on the challenge in honour of Pearl Dixie Bartlett-Bundy, who passed away in 2017 after being diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
John completed the crossing alongside his brother, and Pearl’s father, Jamie Bartlett, to raise funds for #PearlPower – a Special Named Fund set up in Pearl’s name at CCLG: The Children & Young People’s Cancer Association.
The fund, established by Jamie and his wife Rachel, raises money to support research into finding kinder, more effective treatments for childhood cancers with poor outcomes. This latest challenge, completed on October 01, marked their second ‘Paddle4Pearl’ fundraiser, following a previous 100km coast-to-coast paddle across Scotland.
Setting off from Dungeness in Kent at 6.30am, the pair reached Boulogne-sur-Mer in France around seven and a half hours later. Despite suffering from sciatica, John completed the crossing sitting down, relying on sheer determination to push through the pain.
“There was no chance of being able to stand. The pain was just too much. I just had to make a decision at the start and once I made that decision, I was fine,” said John. “You just go into a mindset then and start grinding it out. At no point did I think ‘we can’t do this’, it was just about not overthinking it.”
John, who works as a design management lead in the aviation and rail sector, described the experience as one of his toughest endurance challenges. “Physically, it’s probably one of the toughest because with cycling, for example, you can have easy sections and tough sections, whereas paddleboarding is solid, non-stop,” he explained.
He added: “It was very much in memory of Pearl, and raising this money is really important to helping other people not have to experience the pain that we did. Pearl was exceptional, and I felt her with me throughout.”
Thanks to challenges like John and Jamie’s, #PearlPower has raised almost £160,000 for CCLG, contributing to an £800,000 collaboration funding four new bone cancer research projects.
Rachel, Pearl’s mother, said: “Pearl would, and should, be 18 now. Our aim in funding these projects to find cures and kinder treatments for Ewings is to quite literally keep kids’ dreams alive.”
Hannah Ortega, from CCLG’s fundraising team, added: “Jamie and John’s dedication and determination have been nothing short of extraordinary. Their passion for supporting children with cancer and honouring Pearl’s memory continues to inspire everyone at CCLG.”
Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/page/paddle4pearl2025, and more information about #PearlPower is available at specialnamedfunds.cclg.org.uk/pearlpower.
