I always thought they should make a film about the battle of Sedgemoor, the last battle on English soil (so far). The ones they have made haven’t done it justice. ‘Captain Blood’ opens with the pointed mountain peaks of the Rockies where it was filmed and then the caption ‘Bridgwater 1685’ and of course the HTV kids’ series ‘Pretenders’ from the 1970s, but that basically put 2 children in the thick of the action of what amounted to bloody rebellion and reprisal by massacre. And now children, it’s Grotbags. Both of which, incidentally, are available at the Blake Museum which turned 100 this week.

Another person they should make a film about is Bridgwater inspiration Wayne Pope, the blind veteran whose life is shaping up very nicely for a movie epic with him being played by either Tom Hanks or Michael Sheen. In unconvincing West Country accents.

I hadn’t visited the battlefield of Sedgemoor for a long time, and I hadn’t yet interviewed Wayne. So, what better combination than 2 birds with one stoat, particularly seeing as the latest string to Wayne’s bow is ‘military historian’.

Wayne has gone from Bridgwater factory worker to radar operator in the Royal Navy facing down middle eastern pirates, pretty much as Robert Blake would have done, to developing a disease affecting his peripheral vision, to long distance runner and picture boy for the Blind Veterans charity. His achievements against adversity and inspiration by example so far include not just the Bridgwater marathon but Worthing on the Sussex coast where, in very cinematic terms he was being cheered on by the crowd and then stumbled within sight of the finish line but pulled himself up and still made it across in record breaking time.

In a few days Wayne will be running the 26-mile London Marathon and the freeze frame shot of him hitting that tape will be the final shot in the film as the credits roll and the playout reel flashes back over his life in Bridgwater.

Sailor

That life started in Bridgwater 45 years ago and took him from Friarn school to St Marys to Haygrove to Bridgwater College. Then in and out of a range of jobs until he signed up one day for the military. Aboard the frigate Chatham he patrolled the Mediterranean, put into port in Egypt and visited the Pyramids before being involved in ‘containment’ operations against Iran in the Gulf. His final posting was to HMS Monmouth therefore providing another cinematic link to his tale.

Returning to Bridgwater after his active service Wayne settled down, brought kids into the world and supported them by getting work with security firms and in factories. But it was then his life took an unexpected turn, and he was diagnosed with a hereditary degenerative sight loss disease which he realised would affect his life forever. This is the scene in the movie where you rage against the world and try to decide what to do about it. Wayne made the right decision because he has the right stuff in him, the character and intelligence to stand up and fightback and crucially the support from the right people. In this case the Blind Veterans charity.

Always good at running Wayne channelled his stamina and determination into this and took to his plimsolls, pushing himself, breaking his own set times, inspiring others and boosting his own self confidence.

Runner

The key phrase Wayne took with him into all this was ‘adapt and overcome’. Many people might go under or give up. But Wayne is an example of accepting your situation, adapting to it and then not letting it get the better of you, but you getting the better of it. And overcoming that adversity.

As part of the Waterloo Project Wayne is now writing dissertations, preparing presentations and doing public speaking. One project is the Battle of Sedgemoor. Spending the morning with him on the battle site you could see he appreciated it from the point of view not just as a veteran but someone who had to face choices. On the monument at Sedgemoor, recognising the fact that Englishman fought Englishman the plaque reads ‘those who died for the right as they gave it’ meaning each man on that battlefield took a life changing decision to take part based on high moral principles as they saw them.

Inspiration

Sedgemoor ended badly for the people of Bridgwater. It suffered military repression, occupation and summary executions. Rebels, that weren’t hung from the trees or dissected on the Cornhill, were sent to the West Indies as slaves. 100 years later that’s why Bridgwater was the first town in the country to petition against the slave trade.

Running the London marathon won’t bring down any government, but when Wayne crosses that finish line, it will be another first for Bridgwater. And something else we can all be proud of.

The Wayne Pope story can be found here.