A FORMER soldier will be going on a motorcycle tour of Route 66 in America with his wife and four-year-old son travelling alongside him in a sidecar.

Gareth Pope customised his Harley Davidson with a sidecar, so his wife, Frankie, 46, and son, Jamie, could join him on his life-long dream.

The bike has been flown out to the USA, ready to cover 2,000 miles over 21 days from August 9- starting in Chicago and finishing in Los Angles.

They are funding the trip themselves but will be raising money along the way for the Hoplite Fund, an emergency fund for Britain's specialist soldiers, past and present, in charitable need.

Mr Pope, from Hereford, said: "As one of the trustees of the Hoplite fund and a veteran serving soldier of this unit, I wanted to raise awareness of this great charity, which makes an enormous difference to supporting our brethren, and try to encourage some sponsorship for a really good cause.

"When I discovered I had cancer (Hodgkin Lymphoma) while serving back in 1990, this fund did not exist, but the way I was treated by this extended family is something I will never forget and will always be indebted to the compassion and care showed to me."

While on his road to recovery he was told the chemotherapy would make him infertile and the unit encouraged him to freeze his sperm.

Fifteen years later he married Frankie and they had IVF and their son, Jamie, now four, was born.

Mr Pope, who will be 50 on September 5, said: "I’m able to celebrate my 50th birthday at one of the happiest times of my life."

For the last five years Mr Pope has been founder and managing director of Special Projects Hereford Ltd, an international specialist tactical communications consultancy company.

He added: "The Hoplite fund provides small, but very effective, help during some life-changing events while our specialist soldiers carry on day after day protecting our country.

"Knowing that themselves or their families left back home will be in good hands should something go wrong is a great comfort- immeasurable.

"The care and confidence this family gave me during a great time of difficult confusing young days of my life have encouraged me to give something back."

They will be joined on the road by family friends Paul and Claire Bateman.

A Facebook page has been set up called Route 66 Hoplite Fund Tour 2015 for interested sponsors to follow the trip. To donate go to http://www.everyclick.com/route66.