Alun Pepper

Flight Lieutenant Alun Pepper discovered that he had testicular cancer in 2006. Fortunately he was able to beat it with surgery and a dose of chemotherapy and the experience didn't affect his active lifestyle in the slightest; However, many aren't so lucky. The most common type of cancer to affect men aged 15-49, the disease claims around 70 lives a year according to Cancer Research UK figures. And, as research shows that 96% of cases can be completely cured if found in the early stages, these fatalities are are mainly down to a lack of awareness and regular checks.




Last year Alun was voted "Britain's Manliest Man", a competition he entered to raise awareness of the disease or as he says to 'talk bollocks'. He uses this as a platform to educate young men about the importance of self-checking and seeking early medical advice. He visits schools and colleges, giving presentations and educating young men about the importance of early diagnosis, and runs media campaigns to raise awareness of the disease.





Peps joined the RAF in 1995 and has flown the Wessex helicopter and Tornado GR4 Fast Jet on operations over Northern Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. He has also flown the Lancaster Bomber as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF).





He currently works as a Flight Commander at RAF College Cranwell where he teaches leadership to the next generation of RAF Officers. Peps describes his 2 proudest moments in the RAF as flying in a formation of Tornado GR4 that were part of the flypast which opened the bomber command memorial in London and being on parade with his cadets as they graduated from initial officer training.

A keen sports man Al is the deputy chairman of RAF Martial Arts, which he has practiced for over 30 years and has just completed a sports science degree and a level 5 in sports massage.

Alun also loves to travel. He has dived the Great Barrier reef, trekked to Machu Pichu and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro.