Fred’s fundraising success for mental health charity

23 December 2024

To mark Men’s Health Awareness Month in November, we caught up with Three Peaks conqueror PC Fred Bray who talked about the power of exercise in boosting mental wellness.

Fred has been with the Force for 22 years and is currently working in the crime management unit at Force Headquarters in Ripley.

Ensuring that crime reports are correctly administered and allocated to the appropriate department, Fred has been in the role since 2017, when he was put onto light duties after spending most of his career on response across north Derbyshire.

This change was made on mental health grounds, after Fred’s difficulties living with depression and anxiety had reached a point where he was struggling to cope with the demands of frontline policing.

PC Fred Bray (middle, bottom row) with his colleagues.

Despite being diagnosed and given medication for both illnesses years earlier, he says he did not fully appreciate the impact they had on his mind until around the time it came to such a drastic decision.

“I knew something was wrong when I started with panic attacks and mini-blackouts while on duty – that was when I went to see a doctor,” Fred said.

“When I look back, I know this was down to my workload and the lack of support I felt I had from the Force.

Mental health

“And, for a long while, I found it impossible to talk about it at work – even when I knew I had been formally diagnosed with mental health disorders. There were days and weeks where I wouldn’t want to see or talk to anyone.

“Only when I started being more open about it, did I start to realise how much it truly weighed me down. And then my role changed completely, which in itself improved my mental health, and gave me the space to continue being open about it.”

In fact, Fred says this openness now runs to the extent of actively raising awareness at work, namely through wearing a lanyard in the office to indicate invisible illness.

This, together with other additions to his life, have allowed him to manage his wellbeing better – including going out on regular walks and hikes.

Earlier this year, Fred was inspired to make an attempt at the Three Peaks Challenge – climbing up and down, and travelling between the three highest mountains of England, Scotland and Wales in 24 hours – to raise funds for two charities close to his heart.

Autistic

He recruited eight other Derbyshire officers and one member of police staff to join him on the tall order, some of them had also experienced mental illness, and all shared an understanding of such difficulties.

Rethink Mental Illness, which has had a hand in Force mental health training in the past, was immediately earmarked as the main beneficiary of the fundraiser, alongside Derbyshire Autistic Services, chosen by Fred in tribute to his two autistic children.

And the challenge, which started on 28 September and went through to the following day, was a resounding success, he revealed: “We all came together as a team and it was absolutely incredible, with eight of us finishing within twenty-four hours and me and another officer finishing not long afterwards.

“We started at Scotland’s Ben Nevis, and this was okay enough, apart from the last 300 metres to the summit causing us trouble as you have to take a very zig-zagged path.

“Then it was onto England’s Scafell Pike, which was our overnight climb. This was the toughest part of the challenge, as visibility got down to barely two metres in front – you had to keep touching the person ahead of you to keep reference of where you were.

“Finally, we got to Wales’ Snowdonia, where fatigue was really setting in and ferocious winds didn’t help matters either. But, in the end, we did it, and we’re all extremely proud.”

Charity

Praising the team he had beside him, he continued: “At the end, I said to everyone, ‘who was worried about their mental health during that?’

“It was obviously tongue-in-cheek, because you have no time to be weighed down by your mind – and that is what exercise can do for you, mentally. I’m so happy that we all completed such an amazing challenge together.”

Another source of pride for Fred was the fact the team raised more than £2,000 for charity.

He placed on record his thanks to fellow Federation members for their support, both through donations and words of encouragement.

“I owe a tremendous thank-you. I can say without doubt that this money will be put to good use, and when people in the office became aware of what we were doing and why, they were nothing but fantastic about it.”

Looking towards the future, Fred underlined the importance of kindness among colleagues for the sake of everyone’s mental wellbeing in the Force.

“In my experience, I think some can still be quite derogatory about general low moods and quietness at work, even if they have no bad intentions – all it takes is to sincerely ask someone if they are okay,” he said.

“As police officers, I think it’s huge that we remember it’s only us who can truly appreciate the things we go through in this profession, and to be there for each other – we can never lose sight of that,” he ended.