West Sussex Navy veteran taking on outdoor sleep challenge for SSAFA

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14 March 2025

David Whines, 61, is sleeping outside for the entire month of March to raise awareness for homeless veterans and to raise funds for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.

Originally from Kent, David served 11 years in the Royal Navy from 1988 to 1999. He reached the rank of Petty Officer Marine Engineer and enjoyed the camaraderie the Navy offered. After leaving the Navy David worked for various maintenance and service companies.

The last several years have not been easy for David. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2013 and undergoing years-long treatment, he then turned to care for his sick mother until she passed away in 2021. David himself suffered a heart attack and had to undergo quadruple bypass and mitral valve repair surgeries. 

Now living in Nyetimber, David is spending the month of March embracing a new kind of challenge: braving the unpredictable weather of England by sleeping outdoors. He saw an advertisement from another charity to spend one night out in March and was inspired to take it one step further.

David chose to raise money for SSAFA because, in his words: “I genuinely respect the work that SSAFA does for serving personnel, veterans, and their families. As a veteran myself, it only seems right to support the charity of which Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was patron of for seventy years.”

David is now halfway through his challenge, using a makeshift outdoor shelter with a tarp and sleeping pad. He is posting periodically on his camping and outdoors YouTube channel, From Kent To Sussex.