"It’s about the blokes, our men and women of the Armed Forces. It’s about Derek, a rugby player who has lost both his legs, it’s about Carl whose jaw is wired up so he has been drinking through a straw. It’s about Richard who was handed a mobile phone as he lay on the stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. It’s about Ben, it’s about Steven and Andy and Mark, it’s about them all. They are just blokes but they are our blokes; they are our heroes. We want to help our heroes."
"War heroes to be axed in army cull"
The Sunday Times of 5th September carries the story that " the MoD has decided to axe 5,000 troops that are medically unfit, including the majority of those who have lost their limbs in bomb explosions and roadside ambushes". The article goes on to report that " the MoD has decided to throw the wounded largely onto the mercies of the Help for Heroes charity and the Royal British Legion".
War is brutal and bloody, our volunteer men and women who serve risk having their lives, and the lives of their families, torn apart. In some units, the casualty rates are as high as anything experienced since the Second World War and yet today, unlike in that war, the majority of people in this country are unaffected by what is going on in Afghanistan. The burden of this war falls on a small and shrinking community of Service personnel and their families. While the rest of the population carries on with their normal lives, our men and women fight and their loved ones wait.
It is a dreadful fact that in war people are hurt, damaged both physically and mentally, their scars will stay with them for the rest of their lives, long after the war has ended. In many cases those injured in war will have to make life changing decisions they would rather they could avoid. They would prefer to have their lives back, to be happy, to be normal, to be whole. Sadly, for many that is not possible, their lives have changed and they will have to make new plans and adjust to an altered future.
We civilians can't prevent war, we can't stop our boys and girls volunteering to serve our country and we can't be there to stop them being shot or blown up. Feeling helpless, we join together to do our bit in what ever way we can. The phenomenal public support for Help for Heroes (H4H) is a demonstration by donation of that support and desire to help our young men and women. Nearly £70m has been raised in 35 months by a public determined that our wounded get the very best and more has poured in to other Service charities; the response has been truly extraordinary.
We have to accept that the Armed Forces have to be fit to fight and that many of the injuries sustained in war, or in training for war, will mean that those injured will no longer be capable of doing the job they joined up to do. Units must be at full strength when they deploy and they can not take badly injured men back into action, nor would we want them to.
Many of those injured, given time, will recover fully and return to duty or will move into other fulfilling jobs within the military; that is the preferred outcome. Others however, may not wish or may not be capable of doing the jobs that are on offer. For them, sadly, civvie street is signposted, however unpalatable that may be, and this is where we, the Service charities, can and must help.
If Service personnel have to leave their chosen career as a result of their injuries, we must ensure that they get the best support and opportunities in order that they get the futures they deserve. They must not and will not be "thrown out onto civvie street''. They should only leave when they are properly prepared and at a time that suits them, as General Sir David Richards said in February 2010, " however long that takes".
Help for Heroes, the MoD and the other Service charities have been working together to ensure that those wounded in the wars get the very best opportunities for successful futures. H4H has committed £64m on various projects that help pave the road to recovery and we are focussed on raising millions more to ensure that the wounded get the futures they deserve.
Our funds will pay for five Personnel Recovery Centres (PRC's), not as reported, to replace Headley Court, but in addition to that wonderful rehabilitation centre. The PRCs, at Edinburgh, Colchester, Catterick, Tidworth and Plymouth, will be places where the wounded can recover, asses what they can do and then train for their futures, either in the military or as civilians. They will be run in partnership with the Services and the charities and together, we are making plans to ensure that support continues for life.
Not only is H4H funding the capital to build the centres, the total bill will be around £40m, it is providing £15m, initially, to enable the wounded to obtain the skills and training they need. Following an assessment at one of the centres, the injured Servicemen will decide, with their Personnel Recovery Officer, what skills they need. Then, with H4H funding, they can go on the right courses to give them the best opportunities.
Many who have been injured will have to face a future far from what they or their families would have wanted. It is crucial that having made that sacrifice, they get proper support to enable them to realise their potential. We at H4H have no part to play in the decisions about who should stay and who should leave, that is MoD business, not ours. Where we can make a difference though, is to help those who have been injured to recover and then to put in place facilities, training, jobs and the welfare support to make their lives as good as they should be; they deserve nothing less.
Bryn Parry
Help for Heroes
Heroes Concert
JUST ANNOUNCED – Tom Jones will be part of the line up performing at the Heroes Concert
We’re delighted to hear that Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow will give their debut live performance of their new single Shame at the Heroes Concert next month! The Heroes Concert, held in support of H4H at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday 12th September, features superstar Robbie Williams as the headline act as well as initial confirmed performances from James Blunt, Alexandra Burke, Pixie Lott, Plan B and The Saturdays.
The show will be hosted by the best of the UK’s comedy talent - John Bishop, Kevin Bridges, Jack Dee, Jason Manford and Michael McIntyre – with a special guest appearance from Bruce Forsyth. New acts announced include Katherine Jenkins with Spelbound, Alesha Dixon, Enrique Iglesias and The Wanted.
The concert will last for several hours and all the acts are waiving their fees to make sure that even more proceeds can go to H4H to ensure direct, practical support for the wounded. The concert is being generously sponsored by our friends at Hesco Bastion, who build the barriers that protect the bases for ‘our blokes’ in Afghanistan.
This is an event not to be missed and promises to be a fantastic evening, so get your ticket before it’s too late! They start at £55 and can be bought from Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.co.uk where you will have the option to purchase one of 1,000 extra tickets to treat a member of the Armed Forces. Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.co.uk) is the only official way of buying Heroes Concert tickets. We would recommend that supporters do not buy tickets via any other outlet or ticket touts as the organisers do not have control over these. Buying tickets through Ticketmaster ensures all profits from the concert go directly towards helping our wounded Servicemen and women.
Thank you to everyone who has bought a ticket, and to those who have treated a troop to a ticket, your support is very much appreciated. There is still time to join us at the concert and show your support to our boys and girls of the Armed Forces, tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.co.uk – but be quick, they’re selling fast!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Support for the Heroes Concert
"I am so honoured to be part of this show and to help draw attention to the amazing job done by our servicemen and women. We're so proud of them."
Robbie Williams
"We hope everyone supports Help for Heroes. It's a great bill and we're proud to be a part of it."
Gary Barlow
"I'm really excited and privileged to be playing the concert because it’s for an amazing cause."
Alesha Dixon
The opening of the Help for Heroes Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court.
“Very occasionally – perhaps once or twice in a generation – something or someone pops up to change the entire landscape. Help for Heroes, under the magnificent and brilliantly quirky leadership of the mad cartoonist, Bryn, and his equally inspirational wife, Emma, is one such phenomenon. What it has achieved here at Headley Court is, in truth, but the tip of the iceberg. Help for Heroes has galvanised the entire British people. Always supportive of its men and women in uniform, this Country has been elevated by Help for Heroes to a state of realisation and proactive support for our military that has made me, personally, very, very proud to be British, and a member of our Armed Forces.”
His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales
Extract from his speech at Headley Court, 4th June 2010
About Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes (H4H) was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry after a profoundly moving visit to Selly Oak Hospital in the summer of 2007. Bryn and Emma met some extraordinarily brave young people who had been badly wounded and they just wanted to do something to help.
The charity was launched in October 2007 and, with the backing and support of celebrities, including Jeremy and Francie Clarkson, the Royal Family, the media and countless ordinary decent people, it has raised over £1m a month since then.
Help for Heroes is strictly non-political. We have no affiliation with any political party and we do not endorse the use of our name for the promotion of any political viewpoint. The money that we raise at Help for Heroes is used to support wounded Servicemen and women of every colour and creed and we strongly oppose any individual or political party who believes otherwise, and those who seek to use the charity’s name for their own political gain.
Read about our wonderful team in Downton & Tidworth . . .
The message is simple: H4H does not seek to criticise or be political, we simply want to help and to do so by asking everyone to do their bit to raise money. Once that money is raised, we go to the experts in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for guidance as to how best to spend it. It is our intention to spend all we raise on the practical, direct support of those wounded in the service of our country since 9/11.
Read about our Headley Court Project . . .
We give capped grants to those charities and groups best able to provide the facilities and services we want our men and women to have. We do not deliver individual benevolence, as that is the work of existing Service Charities which we work very closely with.
Read our Annual Review . . .
When we began, we wanted to ensure that we would be as efficient as possible so our policy is money in and money out. We are not trying to build large reserves, we want your money to be used and quickly. We have either spent or allocated £54m to date on facilities and services. We can spend all we get, so don't stop!
We set up H4H Trading to sell products and the profits from these sales mean that we can cover all of our operating costs and donate the extra to the charity, so rest assured, currently if you give us £10, £10.10 will go to the cause…. and that is better than any other charity we know of.
We are working hard to raise more money and we are passionate about what we are doing. It is needed, it is appreciated and we are making a real difference to the lives of some extraordinary young men and women. Please join us in helping our Heroes.
Thank you
The Help for Heroes Team
How we spend your money
Some examples of how your donations have been spent.
Headley Court: The £8m Help for Heroes Rehabilitation Complex at the TriService Rehabilitation centre in Epsom, Surrey, is under construction and due to open in the spring of 2010.
Combat Stress: We are funding the £3.5 extension to the treatment centre at Leatherhead and the complex will be finished in May 2010.
Norton House: We have contributed £500,000 to SSAFA - Forces Help, towards the provision of a Relative's House at Selly Oak. The house is a 'home from home' for the relatives visiting their loved ones in hospital. The house opened earlier this year and has been a resounding success.
Battle Back: We fund Battle Back, the military initiative based at Headley Court, that enables the wounded to enjoy adventure training and many of them are now training to compete at international level.
Troop Aid: We support Troop Aid who supply all of our wounded with a grab bag of essentials to make their stay at hospital more comfortable.
Skill Force: We have provided funds to enable rehabilitating servicemen to undergo an internship and learn new skills working with and inspiring schoolchildren.
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.
Blesma: We have provided funds 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.
Launch Pad to Life: Help for Heroes are delighted to announce that we have been able to raise the £20m we pledged in March 2009 to help pay for the four Personnel Recovery Centres (PRCs).
So, what next? The Recovery Pathway is all about making the most of each person's potential. It's not about what they can't do, but it is about what he or she can do. Therefore, everyone on the path will be assessed as to their potential and ambition and then helped to achieve their best. H4H will be part of that process and we have announced our intention to raise a further £20m to fund the IRPs. Our funds will be directed to support the individual as he or she progresses along the road to recovery and will fund courses and opportunities that will equip the wounded for their futures.
Thank you
The Help for Heroes Team
