Patrons

Meet our wonderful Patrons who give so freely of their time to support our wounded, injured and sick in many activities, spread the message and help us in our fundraising efforts.

Hero Patrons

Johnson Beharry VC

Johnson Beharry VC of the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment is a British soldier who, on 18 March 2005, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed forces, for twice saving members of his unit from ambushes on 1 May and 11 June 2004 at Al-Amarah, Iraq. He sustained serious head injuries in the latter engagement.

Major Peter Norton GC

Major Peter Norton deployed to Baghdad in 2005 and at the end of July was very seriously injured by an IED; he was awarded the George Cross for his actions in the incident in March 2006. Following 11 months hospitalisation and 14 months of rehabilitation at DMRC Headley Court, Pete returned to work at the Defence Academy in August 2007 and was appointed ‘SO2 Counter-IED and EOE’ within the Technical Division of the Defence Academy’s College of Management and Technology in Sep 2008. He has remained in post to-date, lecturing and mentoring students on a range of military and post-graduate courses. An active Member of the Institute of Explosives Engineers Pete sits on the national Council and is Chair of the Technical Committee. Pete is a committee member of the VC & GC Association and trustee of the VC & GC Benevolent Trust; a trustee of the William and Grace Trust for injured EOD personnel and a Trustee of The Tedworth House Charity in addition to being a “Hero Patron” of Help for Heroes and supporter and fund-raiser for SSAFA, ABF, BLESMA and The Felix Fund. Pete has rediscovered his love of photography plus new pastimes and interests such as downhill sit-skiing and hand-biking.
Founder Patrons

General the Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL, President

General the Lord Dannatt was commissioned into The Green Howards in 1971 and served with the 1st Battalion in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Germany and commanded the Battalion in the Airmobile role from 1989 to 1991. From 1994 to 1996 he commanded 4th Armoured Brigade in Germany and Bosnia. He took command of 3rd (United Kingdom) Division in January 1999, and served in Kosovo that year as Commander British Forces. In 2000 he returned to Bosnia as the Deputy Commander Operations of the Stabilisation Force (SFOR). From 2001 to 2002 he was the Assistant Chief of the General Staff in the Ministry of Defence before taking command of NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). In March 2005 he took over as Commander-in-Chief Land Command, and assumed the appointment of Chief of the General Staff in August 2006. He retired from the Army in August 2009 to become Constable of The Tower of London. He published his autobiography: “Leading from the Front” in September 2010. General the Lord Dannatt became a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London in July 2010 and in January 2011 he was appointed a Life Peer and sits on the Crossbenches. He has been hugely involved in H4H from the start, both as a Trustee and as a Founder Patron before agreeing to become the first President of the Charity.

Jeremy and Francie Clarkson

Jeremy and Francie were key figures in the launch of Help for Heroes. Jeremy's interest in the Armed Forces and Francie's family connections, her father was Major Robert Cain VC, linked them to the young men and women fighting today. An early visit to Selly Oak Hospital inspired them to do what they could to help the wounded. Both have helped fundraise at numerous events and Francie has cycled hundreds of miles alongside our Battle Back riders to Arnhem on the Bridge Too Far ride and continues to be closely involved in the development of the Charity.

Richard Benyon MP

Richard is the Member of Parliament for Newbury. He was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets in 1981 and served in Northern Ireland and the Far East. On leaving the Army he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor. As well as being a farmer he ran a property business. He is a Minister for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and has taken a great interest in Defence and Security issues. He is married to Zoe and has five sons. In January 2010 he stepped down from the role of Trustee of H4H but will continue to support the Charity in his non-executive role as a Founder Patron.

Air Vice-Marshal John Ponsonby OBE FRAeS

Air Vice-Marshal John Ponsonby spent nine years in the British Army, before transferring to the Royal Air Force to pursue his love of flying. He spent most of his time flying support helicopters in the UK (including Northern Ireland), Germany, Hong Kong, the Falkland Islands and the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. His time behind a desk was spent in the Ministry of Defence and Command HQs, working at all levels from being a PSO in CDS' office in General Guthrie's time, to commanding 22 Group RAF as an Air Vice-Marshal. He recently joined Augusta Westland, a helicopter company, as Senior Vice-President Training. In March 2011 he stepped down from the role of Trustee of H4H but will continue to support the Charity in his non-executive role as a Founder Patron.
Celebrity Patrons

Peta Todd

Peta has been a key supporter of H4H since the start and has thrown herself into many fundraising events, including the H4H Big Battlefield Bike ride, toboggan racing and wingwalking. She has even visited Afghanistan to boost troop morale. Peta was one of our most famous page 3 models, featuring in pages from the Sun to FHMs 2008 Calendar and is now a busy writer, mother and professional cycling fan! She truly is the Forces pin-up!

Mark Cavendish

The professional cycling star has joined fiancée Peta Todd as an official supporter of the Charity. Mark is a perfect fit with the Charity as it continues to grow its strong association with cycling. H4H was founded with a fundraising bike ride in 2007 and has continued to utilise the sport as a great means for the recovery of our wounded heroes.

Mark first became involved with H4H in 2010, when he attended an event in California; here he met Peta who was in the welcoming party for the injured war veterans who had just completed a trans-America charity bike ride. Mark has continued his support of the Charity by visiting Headley Court and the Help for Heroes run Recovery Centres and by meeting numerous brave wounded heroes.

Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp is an actor, author and BAFTA winning documentary maker. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Since 2006, Kemp has received international recognition for his investigative documentaries, specialising in the area of gang culture. His latest endeavours have seen him on the front line with British Troops during OP HERRICKS 6, 7 and 9.



Lorraine Kelly

Lorraine Kelly is a TV presenter and journalist: "I am honoured to be a Patron of Help for Heroes and to be involved in the incredible work they do. It is so important that we all get the chance to say thank you to our Armed Forces and for them to know how grateful we are for their service and sacrifices." Lorraine is a keen supporter of Help for Heroes Band of Sisters, taking a personal interest in their stories, and is the face of the H4H Colossal Cake Sale.

Sir Ian Botham

"These days the word Hero is used far too often! Over the years I have been inspired by many people, from the incredible young boys and girls with Leukaemia to our brave Servicemen and women, all of them real Heroes. I had the privilege of visiting Selly Oak Hospital some months ago where I met just some of the wounded Heroes from our Armed Services. It was a humbling and inspirational visit.

"Our young men and women of the Armed Forces will say that they are not heroes, they will tell you that they are just blokes doing their job. I think that anyone who volunteers to serve in time of war, knowing that they may risk all, is a hero. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things and some of them are living with the consequences of their service for life. We may not be able to prevent Servicemen and women from being wounded, but together we can help them get better. I am delighted to be able to 'do my bit' to help Real Heroes and ask that you do your bit, for only being united can we ensure these courageous young men and women get the very best, they deserve it! I am delighted, honoured and very proud to become a Patron of Help For Heroes. Please join me and Help for Heroes, together we can make a difference."

Simon Halliday

Simon is a former England Rugby Union International. In 1983, Simon dislocated his ankle and was out of rugby for a couple of years. Part of his recovery was spent at Headley Court, which was also looking after the Falkland Veterans at the time. It was there that Simon says he learnt perspective, and gained an understanding of the bravery and humility of our wounded soldiers. After recovering, Simon went on to represent England in 23 international matches from 1986 to 1992, including the 1991 World Cup and 1992 Five Nations Championship. Simon first became involved with H4H in 2007, contributing to the development of the Charity's swimming pool and rehabilitation centre at DMRC Headley Court. Since then, Simon has supported various H4H initiatives and was instrumental in the organisation of the Heroes Rugby matches in 2008 and 2011, which raised over £2m for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel, veterans and their families.

Chris Holmes MBE MA

Chris Holmes MBE MA is Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmer ever, winning nine gold medals, six of which have been at single games. Despite losing his sight overnight aged only 14, Chris gained straight A's at A- level and a place at Cambridge University to read politics. While still at university, Chris won 6 gold medals at the Barcelona Games in 1992. He is now an international lawyer and sits on the board at UK Sport, the Disability Rights commission and was an Ambassador to the London 2012 Olympic bid.

Lady Victoria Leatham

Lady Victoria Leatham was Honorary Colonel of 158 Royal Anglian TA from 1996 until 2003. She managed her family home, Burghley House, home of the International Burghley Horse Trials, until this year when she retired. She is a member of the Court of Drapers Company and one of the experts on The Antiques Road Show. She is a keen supporter of the Armed Forces.



James Blunt

James was commissioned an officer in the Life Guards regiment, a unit of the Household Cavalry of the British Army. He rose to the rank of Captain and served as an armoured reconnaissance officer in the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. He was put in charge of leading 30,000 troops into Pristina as the first British officer to enter the Kosovan capital. It was while on duty in Kosovo that he wrote the song "No Bravery".



Monty Halls

Monty is a high profile figure in the worlds of diving and adventure. This ex Royal Marines Officer has led numerous expeditions and projects throughout the world, and is a marine biologist, travel writer, television presenter and public speaker of note. Monty’s work, undertaking all manner of unusual projects, has taken him around the world to a huge variety of environments.

Andy McNab

After being abandoned as a baby, Andy was adopted and was brought up in the Peckham area of South London. A life of minor crime followed until he joined the infantry with the Royal Green Jackets in 1976, progressing to the SAS. In the Gulf War, McNab commanded the Bravo Two Zero patrol, given the task of destroying underground communication links in Iraq and mobile Scud launchers. Three of the eight man patrol were killed, one escaped and four were taken prisoner by the Iraqis and tortured over a six week period. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal and was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he left the SAS in 1993.

Ken Hames

Ken served in the British Army for 25 years. He started as a tank driver but after being selected for Sandhurst he spent most of his career as an officer with the Queens Regiment and the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. Life was never dull and he saw numerous tours of duty in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, (while on secondment to the Royal Marines) and eventually became an SAS Troop and Squadron Commander where as he puts it 'he got sent away to some very unsafe places and couldn't tell anybody anything about it'! Ken's experiences in the Army led him to other careers in television, public speaking and leadership training. He recently made a moving and much acclaimed documentary on BBC1 that highlighted the plight of homeless servicemen and women. His series Beyond Boundaries on BBC2 has done a lot to change perceptions about disability and he is currently working on a new series to be filmed this year that will tell the story of injured soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and their battle back to fitness. In what spare time he has Ken is mad about expeditions, climbing and rugby and lives in Bristol. Ken is passionate about the work of Help for Heroes and is planning his own challenge to raise money and awareness.

Anneka Rice

Anneka has worked with the forces for over 20 years.   Memorable (to her anyway) projects include becoming an Honorary Sapper in the Royal Engineers and getting stuck half way down a death slide; landing a helicopter on top of a submarine during "Treasure Hunt", and presenting "Combat" for ITV, where regiments competed in gruelling physical challenges.   The Forces have helped her on numerous "Challenge Anneka" missions and she is delighted to be involved with Help for Heroes.
Patrons

Lydia Cross

In 2003, when she was only two years old, Lydia contracted Meningitis with Septicaemia. After being placed on life support and suffering multi organ failure, she pulled through but after countless operations she still had to have below knee double amputations. Lydia, now 11, never lets her disability stop her doing what she wants. She wanted to raise money for Help for Heroes and decided all on her own to do a sponsored swim. The swim was only planned to be 20 Lengths but then on the day, with Matt Kingston and family and friends cheering her on, Lydia swam 64 lengths in 64 minutes, 1 mile, raising just over £13,500. Lydia and her family then organised a 1 mile run/walk in Braunton to raise money for H4H, the sponsorship of which went towards Matt and Ben’s 2010 London Marathon total. Ben and Mark Ormrod both came to support Lydia on her 1 mile run along with hundreds of people. Since then Lydia has climbed Pen-Y-Fan and completed the London Marathon on her handbike to fundraise for H4H. "Ben McBean, Mark Ormrod and Matt Kingston are Lydia’s heroes," explains Lydia’s mum Jodie, "They’ve made Lydia feel proud of herself, feel proud to show her legs off – it is totally due to them. The reason why Lydia wants to do so much for these men and raise money for them is because in her words, 'They have got leggies like me and I want to help."

Gill Shaw ABIPP AMPA

Gill has been a professional photographer for 18 years and has photographed celebrities, royals, presidents and prime ministers on a regular basis. Gill’s first book, ‘Slightly Offstage’, raised funds for ‘Society of Stars’. Gill also won the photographer of the year for her involvement in opening a clinic in Africa for ‘Support for Africa’. In September 2009, Gill launched ‘The Hero Inside’ book and exhibition to raise funds for Help for Heroes. In October 2009, Gill also received a Special Recognition Award for her inspirational work on behalf of charities.

Ben McBean

On 28th February 2008, Ben was on foot patrol in Afghanistan when he stepped on a land mine. As a result, he lost his left arm and his right leg was amputated above the knee. A little over a year after being wounded, Ben took part in the 2009 London Marathon and raised money for H4H. Despite being in unbearable pain from his prosthetic, Ben completed the marathon in 6 hours and 15 minutes. Since then, he has completed many challenges, including trekking to Everest Base camp on the Khumbu Challenge and running the 2010 London Marathon, beating his time from the previous year.

Mark Sutcliffe MBE

Mark served in the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment 'the poachers' during his service he has deployed to Northern Ireland ,Afghanistan and Iraq.

During his tour of Basra July 2006 after being ambushed and hit by an RPG his left leg was blown off. After a short recovery he took up the post of a Military Liaison Officer for a period of 4 years at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine looking after the needs of other injured servicepersons and their families.

Mark was awarded an MBE in the Queens Birthday honours list 2012 for his work at RCDM. Having recently left the Army Mark is kept busy representing Help for Heroes and currently training to become an Engineer.

Andy Newell

Andy served in the Parachute Regiment for over 25 years reaching the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2). He spent most of his career with the Pathfinders as part of 5 Airborne Brigade and finally 16 Air Assault Brigade. He has been on many operational deployments around the world including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan. In July 2006 during OP HERRICK 4 in Afghanistan he was the WO2 of the Pathfinder Group when his right arm was totally shattered during the bitter and prolonged fighting at Musa Qaleh in Helmand province. Since then he has undergone extensive surgery eight times to repair his arm, been a regular customer at Headley Court and is still undergoing treatment at Kings College Hospital in London. He is an ardent supporter of H4H and has sold merchandise, completed three bike rides and ran the London marathon to raise funds for H4H. Andy currently lives in Fleet, Hampshire.

Chris Moon MBE

After leaving the Army, Chris Moon worked for a charity clearing landmines and the debris of war in Asia and Africa and is one of the few westerners to have survived abduction by Khmer Rouge guerrillas. He was blown up while walking in the cleared area of a minefield in remote East Africa in 1995. Less than a year after leaving hospital, Chris did the London Marathon and subsequently many of the world’s toughest ultra marathons, raising funds for charities assisting the disabled. Shortly after being injured he enrolled on a Masters Degree in Security Management at Leicester University which he completed, wrote his autobiography One Step Beyond and went into business as a speaker and trainer on mindset, motivation and leadership.

Andy Stockton

Andy Stockton served with 32 Regiment Royal Artillery for 19 and a half years reaching the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2. Andy, originally from Chester, has served three tours of Northern Ireland, three tours in Iraq and more recently Afghanistan. Andy lost his arm during an ambush by the Taliban in Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on 11th June 2006. Andy was medically discharged from the Army on 23rd September this year and lives with his wife in Wiltshire.

Viscount Brookeborough

Viscount Brookeborough was involved with the Security Forces in Northern Ireland for 30 years and is only too aware of the vital part Headley Court has played in the recovery of the hundreds of Servicemen and women wounded in that time. Now that the conflict in Northern Ireland is resolved, the need for our world class rehabilitation centre continues and he is delighted to offer his support to Help for Heroes to enhance the lives of our wounded Service Personnel.

David Richmond CBE

David has deployed to NI, Iraq in 1991 (OP GRANBY), Bosnia, Iraq (OP TELIC) and Afghanistan. He commanded The Argylls, 5 SCOTS during OP HERRICK 8 and was seriously wounded during a Battle Group operation near Musa Qaleh. In his honorary role as the ‘senior casualty’ he is a member of the Independent Medical Experts Group of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review, on which he represents the views of the wounded, injured and sick. Now retired from the Army, he is Chief Operating Officer at Tedworth House and Help for Heroes Defence Recovery Officer.
H4H Service Friends

HMS BULWARK, the Royal Navy's FLEET Amphibious Flagship capable of Commanding a Brigade level Amphibious Assault. Launched in November 2001 she has a ship's company of 390, a quarter of whom are made up from 4 Assault Squadron Royal Marines (4ASRM). BULWARK's fundraising efforts and involvement with the Big Battlefield Big Bike Ride has led to her being described as 'Help for Heroes favourite ship'.

RAF LOSSIEMOUTH is the largest and busiest fast-jet base in the Royal Air Force. The Station is home to 3 operational squadrons of Tornado GR4s, the Tornado GR4 Operational Conversion unit, a Sea King Search & Rescue Flight, an RAF Regiment Field Squadron and an RAF Regiment Auxiliary Squadron, as well as an extensive range of operational, logistic and administrative support functions. Their day-to-day task is to train and prepare for the projection of air power on operations world-wide. Their commitment of people and aircraft to current operations is wide-ranging and continuous: together with the rest of the RAF, they make a pivotal contribution to the defence and security interests of the UK. They are also a major and well-integrated part of the local community in Moray, an outstandingly beautiful part of Scotland.

Trustees

Management Team

Regional Teams

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