April A to Z blogging challenge Help for Heroes

Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have.’

And so say all of us. The harsh truth, however, is that nations do not adequately look after the maimed and disabled young people who have carried out their governments’ orders – it is left to charity.

Help for Heroes (H4H) is a charity launched in October 2007 to raise funds to support the young men and women of British armed forces who have suffered life-changing injuries. They will bear their scars for the rest of their lives.

H4H helps young people to regain their confidence and face life afresh in circumstances they may never have imagined.

Matthew Wilson’s father and grandfather were soldiers and from his earliest days Matthew dreamed of joining the army. His father was killed in action at the age of 23 when Matthew was four years old.

In 2005 Matthew joined the army. In 2009 he was sent to Afghanistan with 2^nd Battalion The Rifles. In June he stepped on a bomb hidden in the ground, losing his left leg and sustaining severe injuries to his left arm. He was 24.

Within hours he had been flown back to UK for life-saving surgery and intensive care in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham. He remained there for eight weeks and spent a further twelve months at the rehabilitation centre, Headley Court.

Although he had wanted to return to the front line he realised that was impossible so had to rethink his life.

Just a year after losing his leg H4H helped fund a scholarship to allow Matthew to gain his personal pilot’s license with the ultimate goal of becoming a commercial pilot.

The charity has raised almost 94,000 million since its inception. All the money raised is used for the rehabilitation and retraining of injured service personnel. Administration charges are met from the sale of H4H merchandise, ranging from H4H wrist bands at £2:00 as worn by Princes William and Harry and sporting personalities like David Beckham to bracelets at £90:00.

A Hog Roast for Help for Heroes

Magnetic 'medal' displaying the Help for Heroes logo
On Saturday Barry and I went to a Hog Roast in aid of Help for Heroes. It was beautifully organised in lovely surroundings and was very well attended. The weather was kind and there was light in the sky well into the evening.
Everyone there was fully aware of the driving force behind the event. Our hosts' son had been very severely injured in January 2009 and for several days it was unclear whether he would recover and if he did how handicapped he might be. He had been blown up in Afghanistan and was evacuated immediately to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, undergoing surgery in the aircraft during the journey. The care he received both immediately and at the hospital was superb. He then went on to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court where injured service personnel are put carefully through exercise regimes designed for individual needs by dedicated skilful physiotherapists.
His shocked grateful family, seeing at first hand the outstanding treatment he was receiving, decided that they must do something to ensure that all returning wounded troops would receive the same superlative care so started raising funds and lobbying for Help for Heroes
The young officer is still undergoing rehabilitation but expects to return to full military duty later in the year. He told us of a Gurkha who was shot in the hand and lost the top of his thumb. He was treated at Camp Bastion and sent back to work. He was shot again, in the same hand, this time losing a finger. Patched up he returned to his duties and was involved in an incident that removed both his legs.
Fatalities are reported in the media but injured personnel get very little coverage and yet many of these brave souls will require treatment and support for years to come. Some of them are very young and the wounds are not always visible – post traumatic stress disorder is just one of the non-physical afflictions that can blight a person's life.
Fundraising is organised in diverse ways – a quick look at the Help for Heroes website gives an insight into the imaginative and enterprising events that have taken place and are being planned.
British Army Hero the Bear fridge magnet

Help for Heroes – the inspiration

Royal Navy Hero the Bear fridge magnet
Bryn Parry served in The Royal Green Jackets for ten years then resigned his commission to become a full-time cartoonist. After visiting wounded soldiers at Selly Oak Hospital and Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court, hearing their stories and seeing the superlative medical care they were receiving, he and his wife felt they must do something to help returning injured service personnel. Within a short time Help for Heroes was founded, receiving the full support of General Sir Richard Dannatt KCB CBE MC, Chief of the General Staff.
Help for Heroes is non-political - its sole aim is to raise money for service charities to use as they feel necessary and to this end many fund-raising events have taken place and many more are planned. Some of them are undertaken by survivors, others by relatives and friends of injured personnel.

Royal Marine Hero the Bear fridge magnet
Bryn Parry's cartoon bear, Hero, appears on many items from mugs to mouse mats. Dark blue, light blue and red bands of colour representing the armed forces feature on braces, belts and bow ties among other things.
Fridge magnets, car stickers, lapel pins, note pads – the list of available items is interesting and entertaining.
To discover more about this flourishing charity please visit the site at http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

PS: I was about to post this blog when Michael Jackson was yet again in the news (hardly news, but that's what it masquerades as!) I was so incensed that I clicked the wrong button, lost the lot and had to start again. According to Sky news nothing else has happened in the world today!