FTD Brothers 'humbled' and 'honoured' to be given freedom of their hometown Redditch
Jordan and Cian Adams, known as the FTD Brothers, were granted freedom of the borough last night at a special Redditch Borough Council meeting
Last updated 27th Aug 2026
A pair of brothers from Redditch have described being given freedom of the borough as a "surreal moment".
People packed into the town's Palace Theatre last night to witness Jordan and Cian Adams receive the honours, along with more also watching from a livestream.
They've been granted it by Redditch Borough Council in recognition of their efforts in raising millions of pounds for Alzheimer's and dementia charities, with their latest challenge earlier this year, which saw Jordan run 33 marathons in as many days,raise £2m.
"It’s a bit of a surreal one really," older brother Jordan said on receiving it.
"When we set about on this journey to kind of advocate and raise awareness and money, you never do it with any sort of intention to receive any kind of recognition or award.
"We came here when we were little with our mum to watch things at the palace, and to be getting the highest honour the borough of Redditch can award you, it feels really surreal and kind of a full circle moment.“
'Grateful' for all the support
Their work has centred around increasing awareness about frontotemporal dementia (FTD), something which their mum Geraldine, who died at the age of 52 in 2016, had developed.
This type of dementia affects the front and sides of the brain, and according to the NHS, most cases are diagnosed in people aged 45-65.
Both brothers carry a rare gene that can cause it, which means they have a high chance of developing it themselves in their 40s.
"We’re very grateful to the local people and family and friends who knew our mum," Cian said.
"It's been a long journey, it’s been 10 years since she passed, 16 years since she was diagnosed, and probably eight or nine years since my brother started doing charity challenges as well.
"So it's all quite poignant that it comes back to Redditch and we're getting that local support from familiar faces and people we don't even know in the crowd coming to support from the local area."
On the the importance of them continuing their fundraising efforts and work, Jordan added: "We want to bring FTD to as many ears and eye as possible.
"It's something that's completely devastated our family, but dementia more widely devastates so many people and we don't feel the right support and kind of awareness and resources are out there for families and that's something we want to change."
Pair are 'so inspirational'
The 'special' council meeting was set-up after councillors backed a motion back in June for them to be given the honorary title of 'Freemen of the Borough'.
Mayor of Redditch, councillor Susan Eacock, who presented both brothers with the official scroll, said they are so inspiring and deserve the recognition they've got through being given this.
"It was absolutely overwhelming and humbling," she said.
"I'm just so in awe of these two boys for what they've done, not just for charity, but also for our little town of Redditch, they've actually put us on the map again.
"It is so inspirational, their key role models for young men, for young children, and I just can't say enough about how marvellous I think these two lads are.”
Prior to this, the title had only been handed out on three other occasions in the council's history.
It was given most recently to the 37th Signal Regiment in 2014. with the Mercian Regiment and the late Walter Stranz the others to receive it.
Leader of Redditch Borough Council, councillor Matt Dormer, said giving them it was "exactly what they deserve".
"It's the most that we can give them," he said.
"It's an absolute honour for me if I'm really honest to be able to do that for them, because there's a lot of councils who have never done this.
"I know Redditch has done it a few times in its existence and I'll probably be the last person to do it at Redditch as well with the council getting dissolved (through local government reorganisation)."