Man with dementia to row 22 miles to raise £50,000

A Wiltshire man diagnosed with dementia two years ago is aiming to raise £50,000 for charity by rowing 22 miles from Eton to Henley.

Jamie Graham, 62, has assembled a crew and will set off on his voyage on July 2nd, in support of the Alzheimer's Research Trust (ART) and the Swindon-based dementia support group, the Forget-me-not Centre.

Prior to his diagnosis with dementia, Mr Graham was looking forward to an active retirement following years as a high-powered IT executive.

Yet since then he has lost the ability to read and write, but still retains a positive outlook, the ART reports.

"Since my diagnosis I've been saddened to find that investment into this dreadful disease has been woefully neglected and I want to help the ART in its efforts to fund more research projects," he told the charity.

Mr Graham is one of 750,000 people in the UK who have been diagnosed with dementia, according to research from the Alzheimer's Society.

Read more about Barchester's dementia care homes.