Help for Heroes dragged into General Sir Richard Dannatt 'smear campaign'

A charity which helps wounded soldiers has been dragged into an alleged smear campaign against the outgoing head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt.

By Melissa Kite and Ben Leach
Published: 9:00PM BST 22 Aug 2009

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the Ministry of Defence, and uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph, asks for publication of any correspondence between Gen Dannatt and Hadyn Parry, the chairman of the Help for Heroes charity.

It comes after Labour MPs and ministers were accused of using FOI laws to make trouble for Sir Richard by unearthing his expenses claims, after he publicly criticised the lack of resources given by the Government to the troops in Afghanistan.

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• General Sir Richard Dannatt's expenses were a fraction of defence ministers'

• Liam Fox says Britain needs to build up Afghan army in order to leave

Whilst the MoD would not disclose who was behind the Help for Heroes FOI request, which was submitted in June, Conservative MPs claimed it looked like fresh evidence of a smear campaign.

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said: "There is no target that Brown's bullyboys will not pick upon to protect themselves or divert attention from their catastrophic management of the military. New Labour is now the most corrosive and corrupting influence in British politics."

Whoever submitted the FOI request could have been seeking to find out whether Gen Dannatt had claimed expenses from Help the Heroes following his unpaid work on the charity's behalf.

Mr Parry described Gen Dannatt's work for the charity as "exemplary". He said: "Sir Richard has done a tremendous job for the charity. His work has been exemplary – beyond reproach.

"He has never submitted any expenses claims, nor have any of the other charity trustees, because we want as much money to be spent on charitable work as possible."

Last week it was revealed that, on a tip-off from inside government, several FOI requests were submitted to expose the 58-year-old general's expenses. Kevan Jones, the Veterans Minister, was named on political website Guido Fawkes as the figure behind it. But he dismissed the accusation as summer tittle-tattle and heaped praise on Gen Dannatt.

Mr Jones last night denied again that there was a smear campaign, saying: "I do not know anything about this Freedom of Information request, nor do I know anything about Freedom of Information requests that were put in as part of a campaign against Sir Richard."

When allegations of a smear campaign first emerged a month ago, Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, sent a note to all his ministers – Mr Jones; Quentin Davies, Defence Equipment and Support; Bill Rammell, Armed Forces; Lord Drayson, Strategic Defence Acquisition; and Baroness Taylor, International Defence and Security – warning them not to brief against General Dannatt and demanding "complete support" for military commanders.

But last week it emerged that a minister had discussed "chasing" Gen Dannatt over his expenses in an attempt to smear him. Requests were allegedly made under the FOI Act, with the backing of the unnamed minister, to find out the extent of entertaining by the general, who retires as Chief of the General Staff next week.

It was also alleged that a minister had called Gen Dannatt a "complete bastard" for making so many public statements critical of the resources given to the troops in Afghanistan.

The latest revelations will renew pressure on ministers over the affair. Edward Davey MP, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, has today written to Mr Ainsworth, asking for further assurances that Gen Dannatt will not become the "target of spin" and that any minister caught briefing against him will be sacked.

Mr Davey said: "As I am sure you will agree, General Dannatt's views on Afghanistan have provided a vital contribution to the debate on how we best support our troops in this intense conflict. They were rooted not in a desire to play politics but in a sense of duty which requires that he does everything in his power to support the brave men and women of whom we ask so much. It is my view that he has in fact shown remarkable restraint in not speaking out sooner on the acute shortages of equipment that have hampered operations in Afghanistan.

"A man who has served with the distinction, bravery and commitment of General Dannatt must not become the target of spin and smear. You must provide cast iron reassurances that he will not be subject to any such campaigns from within your department. Have any such moves already taken place, I trust that you will not hesitate to remove from office any minister who has been involved. Only in this way can what I hope are rumours of these utterly distasteful plans be put to rest."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/6073767/Help-for-Heroes-dragged-into-General-Sir-Richard-Dannatt-smear-campaign.html

Posted By: Lottie Mather

Police station ban poppy sales

Police station poppy refusal u-turn

Monday, November 02, 2009, 19:08

4 readers have commented on this story.
Click here to read their views.

ROYAL British Legion members are upset after they were prevented from selling poppies at a police station.

George Hancock, 52, vice-chairman of the Basford branch of the Royal British Legion, tried to put a poppy box on the counter at Oxclose Lane police station in Arnold. But he said he was told by a receptionist that new legislation banned him from selling poppies at the station.

Mr Hancock said: "There was nothing I could say but I thought 'What next if the police are banning us? Who is going to ban us next?' It was very disappointing."

He added he felt the police should be supporting the efforts of the Legion to raise money in memory of fallen soldiers.

But Notts Police told the Evening Post there had been a misunderstanding and they would be "more than happy" for Mr Hancock to drop a box in. He added poppy boxes were in place at other county police stations.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Poppy-mix-leads-Legion-anger/article-1473837-detail/article.html

Posted by: Grace Vernon

Sponsored walk for troops

500 MILE SPONSORED WALK for HONOUR OUR TROOPS

Join

Basic Info

Name:

500 MILE SPONSORED WALK for HONOUR OUR TROOPS

Category:

Sports & Recreation - Outdoor Sports

Description:

Walking 500 miles for Charity is now in the planning
stage, for HONOUR OUR TROOPS.
Supported by the Pop Group - THE PROCLAIMERS,
Supported by Wolves FC
Supported by the Keighley Cougars (Rugby League),
Supported by Farnborough FC
Supported by Castleprint, Richmond, nr Catterick
Supported by Raiseprint, Keighley
Supported by Sign & Design, Keighley
Supported by Nottingham Panthers Ice Hockey Club
Supported by Labour MP for Milton Keynes - Dr Phyllis Starkey MP,
Supported by Andy King, Labour... (read more)

Privacy Type:

Open: All content is public.

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Website:

http://500miles4charity.ning.com/

Office:

United Kingdom

News:

PLEASE REMEMBER - WE ARE DOING THIS WALK FOR OUR BRAVE SERVICEMEN & WOMEN WHO FIGHT BRAVELY SO YOU AND I CAN BE FREE AND SAFE

THIS IS OUR WAY OF "SAYING" THANKYOU FOR ALL THEY HAVE DONE FOR US

Much support from around the UK for our walk of 500 miles for Honour Our Troops Organisation

Cait Smith is on loan to us from Honour Our Troops and appears as a member of our admin team

Make sure you add yourself to the discussion WALKERS if you are walking
Add yourself to the discussion HELPERS if you wish to help in anyway.

All those who are WALKING and HELPING, don't forget to follow the link - HOT Tours Towns that can be found in the links section.

Proposed Date of Walk to Start on Monday 4th January 2010

PROPOSED STARTING POINT - CATTERICK GARRISON
PROPOSED END POINT - ALDERSHOT GARRISON

ROUTE
CATTERICK GARRISON
RIPON (via Masham)
LEEDS via Harrogate & Keighley
SHEFFIELD
NOTTINGHAM (via Teversal)
LEICESTER
RUGBY
NORTHAMPTON
MILTON KEYNES
BICESTER
BRIZE NORTON
LYNEHAM (via Wootton Bassett)
WARMINSTER
WINCHESTER
NAVAL BASE, PORTSMOUTH
LITTLEHAMPTON
BRIGHTON
HENFIELD
PETWORTH
ARMY, ALDERSHOT

Maps of the route can be found at the foot of the main page at >> http://500miles4charity.ning.com
Please make sure you join if you are walking with us
Just use the side bar to show whole route by clicking on the - sign

(this is the safest route)
Total Miles 507

The Original plan to add Selly Oak Hospital in as part of the walk has now been changed, for safety reasons and a visit to the hospital will take place over the Christmas period, Contact Francisca Brunet-Burgess for further info

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=105940720788&v=info&ref=nf

Posted by: Grace Vernon

Where the money goes

After our tutorial, I wanted to research further into where all of the money goes that H4H raises, as when Sarah asked us, we werent 100% sure, so here it is.....

How do we spend your money?

We spend every penny possible on making grants that aim to provide practical, direct support for our wounded. The grants that we have made so far are outlined in the table below with further information about each grant available beneath the table. Our current focus is for grants to create a series of regional Recovery Houses to be built across the UK and serve as the last stage of rehabilitation before a serviceman, or woman, returns to their unit or transits back into civilian life. Our current target for this is to raise £20 million by October 2010 and while the support has been amazing, there is still a way to go. We do, of course, have running costs but for our first year we kept these so low that 98p from every £1 donated was available for grants and we aim to continue operating at a similar level. Grants made since H4H began with the most recent at the top £ Army Recovery Centres 10,000,000 Not Forgotten Association 60,000 Deptherapy 4,400 British Limbless Ex Service Men’s Association (BLESMA) 100,000 Erskine Hospital 750,000 Skill Force 224,300 Troop Aid 50,000 Battle Back 308,000 Combat Stress 3,500,000 Selly Oak Patients Welfare Fund 10,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) 520,000 DMRC Headley Court 8,000,000 Grants made since H4H began 23,526,700

Working With Service Charities The Charity Commission said this about our relationship with the other charities, "You have certainly changed the Armed Forces charities landscape. The achievements of Help for Heroes in its first year are extremely impressive.. There is no doubt in my mind that H4H has drawn in new money which would otherwise not have been available to benefit the Armed Forces Community" Harvey Grenville of the Charity Commission Read more about how H4H works with other Service Charities . . .

Not Forgotten Association
	A grant of £60k all ring-fenced for post 9/11 injured and or with disabilities and 50% of the grant specifically to support the participation of servicemen and women (including staff carers where necessary) from DRMC Headley Court, including a proportion of the event overhead. Half of the total places on adventure training type activities (such as canoeing, Calvert Trust, Camp Hill) to be offered to Headley Court in the first instance to ensure the activity is consistent with patient rehabilitation programmes. Not Forgotten Association website

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA)
	This was the second such grant made to SSAFA and went towards the purchase of a people carrier for each of the two Norton Homes to which H4H has already contributed. SSAFA website

Deptherapy
	To top up the funding for four injured former forces personnel to undergo diving rehabilitation in Florida at a specialist facility alongside the US Forces.

British Limbless Ex Service Men’s Association (BLESMA)
	To go towards funding four adventurous events organised by BLESMA, including a transatlantic yacht race, a ski trip to Colorado, ski bobbing in Austria and the 2009 Fastnet challenge. BLESMA website

Erskine Hospital
	To accelerate the launch of the regional Recovery Houses by funding a twelve month pathfinder for the Army. This will provide accomodation for twelve wounded servicemen, or women, and is to be hosted at Erskine Hospital in Edinburgh. Erskine hospital website

Battle Back
	This was the second such grant (see below) made to Battle Back and provided top up funding for Battle Back's Core Activity Programme as well as a specially adapted parachute harness to allow amputees to jump with the Red Devils and a Royal Marine expedition to the Himalayas. Click here to read more about Battle Back

Skill Force
	To design and deliver an Internship Programme for up to twenty servicemen, or women, (over two years) in the three services recovering from physical and psychological injuries sustained during active service. Skill Force website

Troop Aid
	We are working with an inspirational group of volunteers called Troop Aid who supply goodies to the hospital at Selly Oak to make the wounded patient’s life a little better. With our funding, we are able to ensure their service is now even better. Every patient who is injured while on active service and goes through Selly Oak will now receive a Troop Aid Hero Grab Bag. This is a very simple idea but it makes a real difference to the moral and comfort of the patient. The bag contains all the ‘nice to haves’ like a t shirt, underwear, socks, washing and shaving kit, or female equivalent, as well as other items like writing paper, a telephone card and memory stick. It also has a letter from a school child wishing the patient a swift recovery... Simple but rather wonderful. Click here to read more about Troop Aid and make a donation

Battle Back
	The team at Headley Court know how important it is for their patients to get back to doing sporting activities that challenge and get the adrenalin flowing. A new Adaptive Adventure Training Team called Battle Back has been set up to ensure that the wounded get a chance to ‘feel the wind in the face and the sun on the back’. The skiing trip was a great success earlier this year and now plans are afoot to provide a great many more trips to help with rehabilitation and confidence, and moral, building. We are working closely with Battle Back and will be providing funds as and when they are needed. Click here to read more about Battle Back

Combat Stress
	We are delighted to be able to announce that Help for Heroes has agreed to give Combat Stress, the charity that helps veterans with mental wounds, a grant of £3.5 million. The money, the biggest grant in the history of Combat Stress, will be used to pay for the much needed expansion, modernisation and reorganisation of their specialist treatment centre, Tyrwhitt House in Surrey, in order to accommodate more Veterans including carers and to provide uprated clinical and welfare working space. Bryn Parry said "This is a difficult subject for many to discuss and particularly hard to fundraise for. H4H were able to do it now and ensure that the centre can get on with their plans immediately and start caring for more of our mentally wounded now rather than wait. With the increase of tours and the level of mental stress experienced it is vital that we have the facilities to give our boys and girls the best treatment, for their mental wounds as well as their physical." Toby Elliott for Combat Stress adds: "I wholeheartedly thank Help for Heroes for this absolutely magnificent donation. It will enable us to rapidly upgrade Tyrwhitt House to deliver 21st century clinical services to those suffering from the wounds inflicted by 21st century warfare, who deserve the very best." Combat Stress website

DMRC Headley Court
	This was the second such grant (see below) made to Headley court and provided additional funding towards a state-of-the-art rehabilitation swimming pool. DMRC Headley Court website

Selly Oak Patients Welfare Fund
	We are delighted to have been able to contribute to this very simple idea. We put £10,000 aside for the Military Liaison Officer’s funds at Selly Oak. That money enables the MLOs to take the patients and their relatives out for a pizza or a curry while they are at Selly Oak and for them to start getting used to being seen in public. More often than not, the locals, when they realise who the group are, pick up the tab; (thanks Brummies!) The fund is very simple; the MLOs know what their blokes would benefit from, they have the cash, they do it and that is that, simple but very, very effective.

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA)
	We have been delighted to donate £500K to complete the SSAFA Forces Help ‘Homes from Home’ appeal to provide relative’s houses at Headley Court and Selly Oak. The houses are fully equipped to be a haven for the relatives of the wounded when they visit their loved ones in hospital and as the Controller of SSAFA outlines below, are a place where the patient’s relatives can recharge their batteries and allow them to go back refreshed. It is a great idea by a great charity and we are delighted to be able to help SSAFA Forces Help to complete their appeal. "SSAFA Forces Help is delighted to receive the generous donation of £500,000 from Help for Heroes. The money is a significant contribution to our ‘Homes from Home’ appeal and will enable us to provide much needed support to our badly injured servicemen and women and their families. We are extremely grateful to everyone who has worked so hard to raise money for Help for Heroes. We can assure them that, through SSAFA Forces Help’s new home near Selly Oak Hospital, it will be used to make a real difference to many lives. Families will soon be able to stay at the home and be close to their loved ones at a time when they are needed most." Major General Andrew Cumming, Controller SSAFA Forces Help SSAFA website

DMRC Headley Court

We have allocated the first £8M to our task of helping to provide the new swimming pool and gym complex at DMRC Headley Court. The designs have been submitted to planners and all being well, work should begin in November this year and the complex will be complete in the late autumn of 2009; we can’t wait! The artist’s impression, together with the ‘fly though’ give a good idea of what the complex will look like but please bear in mind that they are just that, an impression at this stage. As we get more details we will be creating a pool complex page so donors can see the progress. DMRC Headley Court website Posted by: Grace Vernon

Help for Heroes tour

The Hero Inside Exhibition Tour Dates

30th October - 3rd November: Liverpool Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool L2 3SW

Until 15th November 2009: Guards Chapel, Birdcage Walk, London

18th November - 1st December 2009: Liverpool Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool L2 3SW (drinks reception on 18th November at 6-8pm)

4th December - 4th January 2010: The Council House, Old Market Square, Nottingham, NG1 2DT (drinks reception on 4th December at 6-8pm)

7th January - 25th January 2010: Belfast Waterfront Hall, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast BT1 3WH (drinks reception on 7th January at 6-9pm)

26th January - 15th February 2010: Edinburgh Central Library, George 1V Bridge, EH1 1EG (drinks reception on 26th January)

17th February - 3rd March 2010: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

5th March - 22nd March 2010: McEwens of Perth Ltd, St John Street, Perth, Scotland PH1 5SN

5th March - 22nd March 2010: Skiptons Building Society, Plymouth (TBC)

End March/April 2010: Hereford Cathedral (TBC)

We should definitely try to visit one of these tour dates to aid our research

Asda till snub for Help for Heroes Mum

By ALASTAIR TAYLOR
Published: The Sun Thursday 29 October 09

MUM-of-three Beth Hoyle claims an Asda till worker refused to serve her because she was wearing a wristband backing injured troops.

Beth says the checkout lad told her the band for Help for Heroes - aided by The Sun - meant she supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And when she complained to a supervisor, he BACKED the Asian youth, saying he was entitled to his view.

Beth, 40, who has two brothers in the services, said the checkout worker told her he didn't want to serve her because of "what she was wearing." Shocked Beth, of Whitworth, Greater Manchester, said that at first she thought the youth at Asda's Rochdale store meant a cross round her neck.

"He pointed to my Help for Heroes wristband and accused me of supporting the war. I told him it was nothing to do with the war, but about supporting our injured troops. "I immediately complained to a supervisor, but he said it was his right not to serve me. I was disgusted."

An Asda spokeswoman said they were "shocked" by the claims but had found no evidence that the incident happened in their store. She added: "We are big supporters of the Help for Heroes campaign and we sell the pin badges and wristband in hundreds of our stores."

Posted by: Michelle Nielsen

Help for Heroes support poppy appeal and show this with new logo

Please support the Poppy Appeal Each year, on 11th November, we remember the dead from the World Wars and the symbol of Remembrance is the Poppy. The Poppy is as relevant today as it was when it was first worn. Our young men and women of today are facing different challenges in the war against terrorism but they show the same courage, humour and determination that their forefathers did. The boys and girls of our Armed Forces are the Heroes of today, they are making sacrifices and they stand side by side with all those who have fought to safeguard our country in all the conflicts since The Great War. We must remember all those who have died and we must care for those who have been wounded. Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and all the other great Service charities are united in a desire to ensure that all those who volunteer to serve our country get the very best treatment, care and respect. We work closely with all the Service charities throughout the year but at this time of Remembrance we especially urge you all to buy your Poppy and wear it with pride; we do. Remember the fallen; care for the living. Do your bit to help our Heroes Thank you Bryn

www.helpforheroes.org.uk

Posted by: Grace Vernon

The Soldiers - Coming home

Oct 2009

'The Soldiers' are Sergeant Major Gary Chilton, Sergeant Richie Maddocks and Lance Corporal Ryan Idzi. These real-life 'Soldiers' release their debut album 'Coming Home'. Part of the album's proceeds are planned to go directly to charities including Help For Heroes, the British Legion and the Army Benevolent Fund.

Although serving as soldiers is their day job, music has always been an integral part of the male vocal group's lives and these real life heroes are set to take the album chart by storm.

Youngest and most recognisable member, 24 year old Lance Corporal Ryan Idzi appeared on X Factor and made it through to the Boot Camp stage of the show after singing Lean On Me. From Caerphilly, South Wales, Idzi has already served in Iraq and Afganistan as part of the 20th Armoured Brigade. Described by Danni Minogue as 'gorgeous', Ryan's good looks are sure to melt the hearts of millions.

Gulf War veteran Sergeant Major Gary Chilton joined the Royal Armoured Corps in 1984 straight from school and has performed around the world including a special show with Jools Holland at Twickenham. Gary fought in the Gulf War and presented with The Gulf Medal by HRH The Prince of Wales upon return.

Sergeant Richie Maddocks from Oldham, Greater Manchester enlisted into the British Army at the age of 16 and has travelled throughout Europe, Canada, Cyprus, Finland and The Falkland Islands. Maddocks also fought in The Gulf War and awarded The Gulf Medal.

The album is being produced by Nick Patrick who has worked with Russell Watson, Katherine Jenkins, and helped sell over 40 million albums and collectively win 7 Classical Brit awards. Patrick comments "Having worked with some of the UK's biggest classical recording artists, Gary, Ritchie and Ryan's voices are some of the most genuine and heartfelt voices I've heard in a long time. We're having a great time in the studio recording their material."

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;0;-1;-1;-1&sku=258162

It would be fantastic if The Soldiers could perform at our event

Posted by: Grace Vernon

BZR Marketing

Local bar BZR recently began a new marketing campaign outside Nottingham Trent University, making use of an army tank. This tank could be hired by us for our event, to contribute to our army theme.

Posted by: Grace Vernon

Campaign possibility - Boots for Troops

As spoken about in our tutorial, Sarah recommended that we also think about starting a campaign to run alongside the event. Taking inspiration from 'Heels that heal,' I thought that 'Boots for Troops' could work for our campaign, requesting a pair of boots from celebrities to auction off.

Posted by: Grace Vernon

Hero comrades reunited by Taliban bomb

Written by: Michael Smith

Published: Sunday Times 25/10/09

When Lance-Corporal David Timmins woke up in a British hospital after being badly injured by an explosion in Afghanistan, he was astonished to see his close friend, Sapper Matthew Weston, lying nearby. “When I came round, there was Matthew a few beds away,” Timmins said. “I couldn’t work out what had happened for a while.”

Timmins, 28, and Weston, 20, had been part of an army bomb disposal team. On the front line in Helmand province, Timmins’s quick thinking had helped to save Weston’s life when one of the Taliban bombs they had been trying to clear went off. Weston lost both legs and an arm.

Ten days later Timmins fell victim to another insurgent bomb that blinded him in one eye, punctured his liver and a kidney, took a chunk out of his skull and damaged his hearing.

Reunited in hospital, they found their injuries were so severe that they were barely able to communicate at first. Yet the two friends are now helping each other recover.

“Even if we couldn’t talk, we were pleased to see each other,” Timmins said. “We both knew exactly what the other had been through. We had shared so many experiences ... it was just good to have a mate close by. When we could talk, we spoke about everything under the sun except Afghanistan. Both of us wanted to concentrate on moving forwards.”

For Weston, the bond has been accentuated after he was verbally abused during hospital outings in a wheelchair with his mother and girlfriend. One youth taunted him with the sick joke: “Haven’t you forgotten something? Oh yeah — your legs.” Another told him: “If you didn’t want to be blown up, don’t go to war.”

The two soldiers met in April when they were deployed to Afghanistan and paired in a bomb disposal team. Weston, from Taunton, Somerset, a member of 33 Engineer Regiment, was a “high-risk search” expert who tracked down improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Timmins, a Glaswegian from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, was a specialist infantry escort providing cover.

Describing the close-knit unit, Timmins said: “Normally there would be one or two blokes you didn’t get on with, living so close and in such stressful conditions. But in this case it was a really good bunch of lads and everybody gelled.

“Matthew stood out because he was so keen and had such a cheeky sense of humour — it was impossible not to like Westy. He was one of the best searchers on the team. It didn’t matter how long we’d been going, he was always super-switched-on during a patrol.

“We didn’t talk about the possibility of getting hurt, although I’m sure it was in the back of everyone’s mind — it certainly was in mine. You are going into the unknown every day so you don’t dwell on the worst that can happen.”

The team had been working hard, clearing 80 bombs over a three-month period, when the first explosion went off in July on a dirt track outside Sangin. “It was tense because we knew there were likely to be devices in the ground on the road ahead of us,” said Timmins, who is married with an 18-month-old son called Rhys.

“You really had to focus hour after hour, no matter how knackered you might have been or how hot it was.

“If your mind started to wander, if you started thinking about home or anything except the task at hand, you were going to get yourself and the team into a world of trouble.”

Timmins recalls kneeling down to pass some kit to a colleague: “And then, ‘Boom!’ Shrapnel and rock debris went flying over my head. We were totally stunned for several seconds. Our captain was yelling at us not to move in case we set off secondary devices.” Then Timmins realised that Weston had been caught in the blast and was rapidly losing blood. Three of his limbs had been blown off.

“We didn’t have time to clear a path to him. Three of us just ran over and started giving him first aid. None of us were medics but we knew what to do. I concentrated on his leg because he was bleeding from his femoral artery, which was a life-threatening wound in itself.”

After a helicopter airlifted Weston to the field hospital at Camp Bastion and the adrenaline of the moment drained away, team morale sank. “In our heart of hearts, we didn’t think he’d make it,” Timmins said. “If you talked about it, there was a risk you would break down.” However, the vital work of tracking down Taliban bombs could not stop. “We had no choice but to crack on.”
When news reached the unit that Weston had been transferred to Selly Oak hospital, Birmingham, and that his condition was stable, it provided a “massive boost”.

“We felt brilliant that he’d made it and it gave us confidence that if you could get back to Bastion still breathing, you’d have a good chance whatever the injury,” Timmins said.

Little did he know that he, too, would soon be testing the skill of the army’s medics. Less than a fortnight after the blast that had seriously injured Weston, Timmins and his team became suspicious as they were clearing a road into Sangin. “I took up a fire position beside a wall to cover the team in case they were attacked.

“We still don’t know how the IED was triggered, but a device hidden in the wall initiated [exploded] and that was the last thing I knew about it.”

Timmins took the brunt of the explosion and lost four pints of blood as he was caught up in a hail of shrapnel. “The blast ‘fragged’ me from head to foot. The injuries were bad, I’ve lost my right eye and the hearing in my right ear. My face is paralysed on that side.”

Doctors at Camp Bastion managed to stabilise Timmins but he remained unconscious as he was flown back to Britain.

At Selly Oak hospital, the soldier’s wife, Zoe, kept a vigil. “I just sat at his bedside, holding his hand and telling him all about my day, talking about everything, hoping he could hear my voice,” she said.

When Timmins woke from his coma, he was surprised yet relieved to see Weston on the same ward. “Since the blasts we’ve become really good mates,” Weston said this weekend. “It’s hard to explain. He has been through the same stuff — maybe not as much — but he understands what it’s like.”

The soldiers are now both recuperating at Headley Court, an army rehabilitation centre in Surrey. “There’s loads of banter from the lads, no pity at all, no feeling sorry for yourself,” Timmins said. “It’s a massive part of life getting back to anywhere near normal. A bunch of civvies would probably find the humour a bit sick, but it’s how we cope with it.”

Weston, who has managed to move almost 100ft using prosthetic limbs, is not bothered by the insults he received from the “drunken idiots” in Birmingham. “I’m quite happy to take the piss out of myself,” he added.

“One of the first things they said to me after I regained consciousness was, ‘The bad news is you’ve lost your legs; the good thing is you’ll never suffer from athlete’s foot or ingrowing toenails again.’ You have to be positive. I survived. I’m determined to walk again.”

Timmins, who will be fitted with a false eye, hopes to make a full recovery. “I’m fantastically proud of him,” said Zoe. “His injuries are bad but I just feel very lucky that he made it back home to us. We know that some men will never be coming home from this tour.”

Posted by: Michelle Nielsen

BOY SOLDIER CRAIG WOOD - BLOWN UP IN A MAN'S WAR

Written by: Neville Thurlbeck
Published: News of the World Sunday 25th October 09

THE terribly-maimed boy soldier whose bravery touched Camilla's heart told last night how he was sent off to war just THREE DAYS after his 18th birthday.

Twelve weeks later fresh- faced Rifleman Craig Wood lost both legs and an arm when a Taliban bomb tore his young dreams to shreds. "I thought it was a nice birthday present when I first went. It was the excitement, the action, the chance of travelling the world."

Craig added: "I knew when I joined up I'd be sent to fight but I didn't worry too much. It was only when I got to Afghanistan that I realised just how bad things were. "We knew it was going to be a bad tour but I didn't realise just how bad."

Now Craig, who is so young he only needs to shave once a week, has had to put his plans to marry sweetheart Vicky Swales, 16, on hold while he battles his crippling injuries in an Army rehabilitation hospital in Surrey.

It was there that he met the Duchess of Cornwall on a trip to mark the launch of this year's Poppy Day appeal. Camilla told him his determination to recover, return to a job and make Vicky his wife were "inspiring".

Craig's courage has also been praised by Prince Harry, himself a veteran of the Afghan war, who also visited him in hospital. For despite horrific suffering, Rifleman Wood refuses to admit defeat and he looks to the future with astonishing optimism and supreme courage.

Before joining the army, Craig's weekends were spent WINDSURFING and dreaming of playing the GUITAR like his hero Hank Marvin. He even had a guitar finger plate signed by the musician on his bedroom wall in Doncaster.

"Me and my dad used to play guitar together," he recalled. "One day I know I'll be playing again."I used to sit in my brother's bedroom, having a beer and playing on our PS3 Playstation. Now I'll have to find a one-handed controller.

"But I will get new legs and a new hand. In a year or two I'll be walking again. I used to go windsurfing at weekends. And I'd love to be able to go surfing again."

Two years ago, while his friends were hanging around burger bars, Craig was pursuing his dream of fighting for his country. He signed up at 17 and went to the infantry training base at Catterick, North Yorks, for basic training.

Recalling the moment he passed out in November last year, his mum Joyce, 45, said: "He was a strapping lad, 6ft tall and weighing 11st, but he still looked like a schoolboy."

For Craig, however, it was the realisation of a dream - he was a member of 2nd Battalion The Rifles, the Northern Ireland based battle group. "It was a great feeling," he said. "It was all I wanted to do."

When the rest of his battalion flew to the war zone, Craig was left behind because he was too young. He had to wait until last April before he could join his mates. And the very next day he was out on patrol.

"I was scared and shivering because I didn't know what to expect," he said. "You look at the locals and think they're all out to get you, but obviously not all of them are."

He'd already been out on ten patrols when on July 30, during a "normal" early evening patrol in Helmand province, the wire-detonated IED bomb exploded beside him.

As a firefight raged around him, shattered Craig remained conscious. "All I remember was the flash and the next thing I was sitting on the ground with my mates running towards me," he recalled. "I was the only one injured. The nearest soldier to me was about 10ft away but he was okay. Amazingly, there was no pain but I was dazed. I knew I'd been hit but obviously I didn't know how badly.

"As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I kept having some sort of nightmare where my hands and legs had been chopped off." That nightmare became a reality when, after arriving back at Birmingham's Selly Oak hospital, he realised he'd lost three limbs and his young face had been ripped open by shrapnel.

His bullet-proof breast plate almost certainly saved his life. Craig spent 10 days in a medically induced coma, unaware that his mother, girlfriend Vicky and dad Paul, 49, were by his bedside.

Recalling the moment when they learned of Craig's injuries while on holiday in East Yorkshire, student Vicky said: "When we got to the hospital, Craig was completely covered up, apart from his eyes.

"The only way you could tell he was alive was from the beeping of the machines he was hooked up to." Craig battled hallucinations and a serious MRSA infection as he fought for his life.
In all, he spent 11 weeks in Selly Oak hospital before being transferred to the Headley Court rehab unit near Epsom, where he will be fitted with prosthetic limbs and learn to walk again.
But he counts his blessings, as one of only three triple amputees from the Army who have survived such drastic surgery.

Craig recalls it was visits from Princes William and Harry that helped to shape his future. "They came on the same day," he said. "Harry came and saw me first. He was really nice, really down to earth. I think he understood what I'd been through. "He's done a tour in Afghanistan himself so he's seen what it's like out there.It's a tough place. "It was such a boost, he gave me a massive lift. He was chatty and funny. We had a laugh together.

"William was great too. He was really reassuring, he told me the army would look after me."They both gave me a lot of confidence. It shows they do care. They were really good lads."Craig still faces extensive plastic surgery to repair injuries to his face, part of which is now held together by a metal plate - yet it's a miracle he's alive at all.

He was only saved by the skill of battlefield medics and 27 pints of blood that enabled him to be brought back to the UK. Remarkably, Craig helped to launch the Poppy appeal this week in his home town of Doncaster - alongside Ben Parkinson, another local soldier who almost died when he was blown up by a landmine in 2006.

Once he is fit enough, the wounded warrior hopes to get a desk job with his regiment or even work as a welfare officer with other injured soldiers. "I know I've lost a lot but I'm determined to get on with things and have a good future," said the lad who will never surrender.

* CRAIG'S parents have set up a fund to help pay for his recovery. Cheques can be made payable to Craig Wood, c/o PO Box 17, 19 St Sepulchre Gate, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 1SJ.

Posted by: Michelle Nielsen