Can you spot a real hero?

Les earned his living as a bare knuckle fighter and worked as a collector for the local underworld. Then he was imprisoned for months in solitary confinement and spent the time in his cell planning his own suicide.

In 1982 L/Cpl Standish received the Military Medal - the third highest award for gallantry in the British Army. 10 years after this honour was bestowed, his life unravelled. He became one of the many - a forgotten hero of the Falklands War - a casualty of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Les was not alone as a PTSD casualty, as many as 10% of people who experience combat develop PTSD. Since the Falklands war over 300 British servicemen have committed suicide – more than were killed in the fighting!

This is his citation when he received his medal:

“In the dark early hours of 28th May 1982, the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment launched an attack to take enemy positions in the area of the Darwin and Goose Green settlement on the Island of East Falkland. Lance Corporal Standish was a Section Commander. During the advance on Goose Green he led his section in a series of ferocious night actions. The enemy had to be cleared trench by trench.  Shortly after dawn, enemy fire caught his men in the open; he calmly withdrew them to dead ground. In withdrawing, a private soldier was wounded. Disregarding his own safety, Lance Corporal Standish returned through enemy fire to drag him to safety. Throughout the battle Lance Corporal Standish commanded his section with the utmost distinction and courage”.

Les was able to receive help through a private clinic in North Wales and went on to become the Welfare Officer in the North West for the South Atlantic Medal Association. The same courage that Les had in the Falklands drove him to try and find help for hundreds of veterans who were PTSD casualties.

As the media geared up for the 25th anniversary of the Falkland’s war, Les was the lead character in a Sunday Times article. But as the anniversary date approached more and more PTSD casualties turned to him for help. This brought back all his horrific memories and Les succumbed to PTSD again. This time he found himself in Anglesey living in his car, again planning to commit suicide. The private clinic had been closed due to lack of funding, so Les had nowhere to turn.

Fortunately, General Robin Short, the former Surgeon General of the Army was helping with the development of a revolutionary new approach to help veterans suffering from PTSD. Within 48 hours of starting the training Les was free from his symptoms of PTSD and able to deal with nightmares that had haunted him for 25 years. This is what Les said after the training:

“I served in the Falklands as a corporal in 2 Para and was diagnosed with PTSD in 1993.  Two weeks ago I had a major relapse. I was suicidal and all my memories came flooding back. I couldn’t cope with them. Having done the course my head feels empty. All thoughts and memories I had are completely shredded and I’m sleeping straight through the night which is something I have not done for 25 years. Go in to this training with an open mind. Accept everything that you’re being asked to do because it really does work.”

It costs £4,000 to give a hero like Les freedom from PTSD. This pays for 28 days of PTSD recovery training and 5 months of social rehabilitation. That’s less than any other programme. And during the initial development 80% of PTSD casualties were symptom free or able to manage their symptoms by the end of the training.

KnuckleDown4Heroes - donate today

Sponsor us for only £1 per mile in the London Marathon you’ll pay for a hero to receive one day’s training – on a PTSD programme that really works!

We need to raise a total of £64,000 by 15 April 2008 to put 16 heroes through   the updated training programme. So Steve Bradbury, who’s just retired from the RAF, has volunteered to run the London marathon to raise money for our Heroes - please support Steve by donating just £1 per mile here – that’s only £26 to help our Heroes.

Once this is training is complete we’ll be able get the funding to run a large scale project which will help over 100 heroes who suffer every day with PTSD. The project will be independently validated by a leading British University. And with this in place we’ll be able to get the funding we need to help the thousands of veterans who are PTSD casualties.

PTSD is not going away. Every time we deploy our troops into combat more and more are at risk of becoming PTSD casualties. And with over 130,000 troops having served in Iraq and Afghanistan there’s a massive problem coming in the next 5 – 10 years which no one has the resources to cope with.

Help us to help our Heroes – because without their sacrifice you wouldn’t have the lifestyle you enjoy today!

Thanks for your help!

David Walters & Richard Osterfield
(PTSD Recovery Programme Developers)

PS – Remember sponsor Steve for only £1 per mile in the London Marathon and you’ll be buying 1 days PTSD recovery training for a Hero that needs our help!

PPS – if you’d like to find out more about PTSD and the devastating affect it’s having on our Heroes, their families and our society visit www.AftertheFalklands.com and download the free resources. And visit www.P3Charity.com to find out the success we’ve had with other social rehabilitation programmes.

KnuckleDown4Heroes - donate today

Sponsor us for only £1 per mile in the London Marathon you’ll pay for a hero to receive one day’s training – on a PTSD programme that really works!