The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal

You will see this appeal explained in full in the forthcoming issue 14 of Battlegames which goes to press on Friday, but since the mechanism used for raising funds is already in place, the Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal web page already open and the first donations have arrived.

When I was a small boy, I can remember my father, who served in the Fleet Air Arm during WWII, suffering great distress when he recalled incidents from his wartime experience. Only comparatively recently have the armed services begun to properly understand the long-term psychological effects of active duty, instituting ‘decompression’ either in, or close to, the theatre of operations for personnel about to end their tours or duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many thousands of our service men and women from less recent conflicts have been effectively left to fend for themselves, relying overwhelmingly on the voluntary help offered by charities like Combat Stress. Please help them to help the men and women who have served on our behalf in dangerous places and situations, often in extremely difficult and harrowing peacekeeping operations such as Bosnia, whatever their rank, job or arm of the services.

Inspired by Jules of Figures in Comfort, who suffers from PTSD himself, and Charles Grant, who is now Vice President of the Combat Stress charity, I have decided to get off my sedentary arse and do something for this unglamorous but extremely worthy cause. I’m going to be working to shed a stone in weight (14lbs, 6.35kg) by Monday 20th October, in time for issue 15, so please sponsor me now! (You can, however, continue giving, or encouraging others to give, to this Appeal for up to six months if you wish.) Visit the Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal web page for full details and to donate.

You can also send a cheque made payable to Combat Stress to the following address:

The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal
17 Granville Road
Hove BN3 1TG
East Sussex
United Kingdom

Please do not make cheques for this appeal payable to Battlegames.

Please help to spread the word: donations are welcome even from people who don’t read (or even like!) Battlegames, and from non-wargaming friends or family. Every penny will go towards helping those who have put themselves in the line of fire on our behalf.

Your support is hugely appreciated.

Henry

P.S. You can find out more about Combat Stress here.