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24 Oct 24. RBL hopes to raise awareness of veterans’ mental health as 2024 Poppy Appeal launches. Some of those in attendance at the RBL’s Poppy Appeal took part in mindfulness and meditation sessions
The Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal has kicked off in London, with this year’s campaign aimed at highlighting the mental scars linked to military service.
An event at HMS President marked the launch of the campaign, with Armed Forces community members gathered at the military base near Tower Bridge.
Some of those in attendance took part in mindfulness and meditation sessions, while others, like Army veteran Tony Routledge, opened up on the psychological impact service can leave behind.
Ex-Royal Signals Bombardier Tony Routledge, 62, was injured in Iraq and became so severely depressed that he threw his medals in a river during a mental health crisis.
“I felt the country didn’t care about my service, I couldn’t feel proud about being a soldier anymore and had effectively wasted my life,” he said.
“I’ve gone through a lot of PTSD and I’ve never really asked for help. Literally, five years of locking myself away,” he told BFBS Forces News.
“I got in touch with the RBL, the person I was talking to, she was great. She said, look, we’ll get you sorted straight away.
“I started to go out and started to do things more and started to smile and interact more with my kids.”
The RBL says this year’s target of £51.3m will help them support people like Tony and amputee veteran David Plant, who told BFBS Forces News he called the RBL during a PTSD episode.
“I’d run away thinking that I’d escaped everything and took the demons with me,” he said.
“I thought I was in the middle of nowhere, out in Spain, which I didn’t know that the Royal British Legion have a branch out there.
“I attempted to take my own life and the Royal British Legion came to save me.”
With 50,000 collectors fundraising each year, the RBL says more than half of personnel and veterans have experienced some form of mental health issue.
The RBL offers rounded care to personnel, veterans and their families, referring those with acute mental health conditions to specialists.
Commemorations this year will mark anniversaries including 80 years since the Normandy Landings, 25 years since the end of UK forces involvement in Kosovo and 10 years since the end of combat operations in Afghanistan.
(Source: forces.net)
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currently serving (both regulars and reserves), veterans from the Second World War and those who have served in more recent conflicts, as well as their families. SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.
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