An ex-Marine from Okehampton is set to make a bold change for a good cause by shaving off the moustache he has maintained for the past 50 years.

Rob Ewen joined the Royal Marines in 1972 with bright eyes and a clean shaven face.

After passing the Junior Command Course, he was promoted to Corporal in 1975 and decided that he no longer wanted to look “fresh faced” but “mature” so he started to grow his iconic tash and hasn’t looked back since.

That is, until his young nephew came up with the idea of a “reverse Movember.”

After a little persuasion, Rob agreed to take the plunge and prepared to face the world without his trademark moustache for the first time in half a century.

Rob, said: “I feel slightly terrified about shaving my moustache off. My wife has never seen me without one.”

Rob’s moustache has seen him through 25 years of service in the regular Corps, seeing active service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, and Iraq.

He retired in 1997, having attained the rank of Warrant Officer First Class and was appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of 45 Commando RM and Commando Logistics Regiment RM, with his moustache serving him in all units.

Rob joined the Naval Career Service until 2015 when he got out of uniform at the age of 60.

His moustache a little more trimmed again served with him throughout, even at his investiture at Buckingham Palace when he received the MBE from Princess Anne.

Rob will be shaving off his moustache at Okehampton Rugby Club on November 29 at around 5pm after the match against Weston-Super-Mare.

Through his fundraiser, Operation Moustache Down, he will be raising money for The Royal Marines Charity and Movember.

To donate to Operation Moustache Down, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/operation-moustache-down