SBT Newspaper 06 Jul 17

05 FORTNIGHTLY 06/07/17
sbt nEWs
uPDAtE
the uK’s no: 1 Veterans Magazine
£5,000 Reward for return of Veterans Medals- Page 2
Meet the Patron of SBT - 3 Times BTCC Champion Matt Neal - Page 3
All the latest on this years Armed Forces Day - Page 4
Veterans Form new Political Party
Veterans across the UK have stood up in
union to form an inspired new Political
Party, The UK Veterans and Peoples Party
The Party Chairman, Mr Daniel Mitchell,
from Haydock, Merseyside, a Veteran who
served with The REME (Royal Electrical
and Mechanical Engineers) as an Aircraft
Technician and Mechanic said: “I believe
what we are planning is based on logic
and common sense.”
The policies and ethics of the party are
based on the virtues of genuine people.
for example; “Everybody will be treated
with respect, there will be transparency,
we will listen to everyone’s opinion. We will
honour our forefathers and be tolerant of
all religions and cultures, although we are
tolerant , we won't be walked over.”
“We have been working on our proposals,
which we envisage will be ready for scrutiny
in due course. At present my colleague
and Founder of the Party Damian
McAndrew has already completed a proposal
on the Education system from cradle
to grave, a complete reform of the political
landscape, and has now progressed
onto homelessness before tackling the
issues with The NHS. Once all proposals
have been agreed they will then be amalgamated
to produce a fully costed manifesto.”
A key focus of the Party being the reorganisation
of the NHS. With a plan to cut
micromanagement and bringing back
Matrons running hospital wards. Mr
Mitchell said: “We would like to see cuts in
unnecessary management roles and
Matrons back on wards rather than being
office based as it provides a more hands
on and personal approach. We’re also
keen to see discounts on pharmaceutical
drugs and a view to deprivatisation. ”
When commenting on the emergency services,
“The ambulance service is currently
graded as an ‘essential’ service and we’d
also plan to see this upgraded to an ‘emergency’
service. This would then become
centrally-funded in order to relieve financial
strain on the NHS. “When we attain
political office, we will overhaul the NHS
systems and procurement issues. The
NHS worked perfectly well for years before
it was systematically stripped down to its
bare bones by private lobbying groups
taking it for every penny they could.”
One of the party’s more controversial proposals
is another ‘deterrent’, the death
penalty, which Mr Mitchell claims a high
number of people within the party have
advocated and are committed to the reintroduction
of the death penalty provided
the case against the accused is watertight
and is carried out in a humane way.
Particularly in light of current events, to
hold terrorists accountable for their
actions. “Imagine you are looking at the
case of the killer of Fusilier Lee Rigby. The
man consciously decided what he was
going to do, and commit to removing Lee
Rigby’s right to life, so therefore it’s justified
that he too would lose his own rights
to life.”
Mr Mitchell said: “Everybody with a military
connection understands consequence
and punishment. If you do something
wrong, your punishment should be equal.
“If you take someone’s life then yours may
possibly be taken too.” It’s a deterrent as
are nuclear missiles – it doesn’t have to be
used. To that end, The UK Veterans’ and
People’s Party are very much in support of
the possession of Trident as a nuclear
deterrent, a topic that prompted heated
debate during the recent general election,
however, they said they would support a
worldwide nuclear amnesty if it was ever
agreed.
Going back to the party’s roots, Mr
Mitchell also touched on the treatment of
Veterans in the UK, branding it a ‘sham’,
and vowed to honour them as one of the
key principles of the party’s policy. “The
treatment of the military forces is a sham.
When we leave the army, they shake our
hands, give us a pat on the back and say
there you go.” After that the government
and society just aren't interested “The
British government do not care. In
America, the government can’t bend over
backwards enough to cater for their veterans.”
Mr Mitchell went on to say “We do not
believe that the fact that we are veterans
will affect our leadership in any way.
Veterans accept a natural chain of command,
as do like-minded civilians.” When
Danny Mitchell, Chairman of the UK Veterans and People’s Party
discussing positions within the party he
added “Any post within our party will be
gained by skillset and experience along
with a suitable background, this may
mean it is filled by either a civilian or a
Veteran, certain positions would be more
suited to a civilain whereas certain positions
in office would be far greater suited
to an ex-serviceman, furthermore, the best
person for the job will get the job, it's as
simple as that and together with one voice,
we will stand united. “However, the fact
that the Party has been founded by
Veterans may unnerve several current politicians
who may have sent their new colleagues
into dangerous situations in the
past.”
“We as a party are strongly against ‘career
Politicians’ who go to University with the
intention of becoming Politicians for personal
gain, being an elected Politician is an
honour and a privilege and should be treated
that way.” The UK Veterans’ and
People’s Party has pledged to cap
Politicians’ salaries, hold them accountable
for their actions and repair the flaws in
our current system using common sense
and plain English.” Mr Mitchell added:
“Current Politicians and the sham that we
call the current Government are all in it for
themselves. They go to university with the
intention of becoming a Politician, and
they believe the behaviour of those who
have preceded them is acceptable and we
believe this is not the case.”
“From my experience, if you want to fix
something, firstly you need to understand
why it is broken. Whenever approaching
any given problem a logical process is
required in order to effect a satisfactory
repair. Todays politicians don’t understand
how to fix things because they’ve never
had to fix anything before.”
Mr Mitchell said: “ The British forces, since
their establishment in 1707 have become
renowned as world leaders in conflict
around the globe. This time we consider it
is a war with the Politicians. We will take it
to their door and show them first hand
what we're made of. Courage, Honour and
Integrity.”
The Sandbag Times would like to stress
that this is the original and acurate report
from Danny Mitchell and UK Veterans and
People’s Party. There have been versions
in the press which have had inaccuracies
which potential voters may find misleading.
This report is, as they say, from the
Lion’s mouth.
For more on the UKV&PP Click Here.
SBS IN HAND TO HAND COMBAT DRAMA
One man, a SBS Warrant Officer,
drowned one of the ISIS soldiers in
a puddle after forcing his face into
the ground, claims the source. The
same man then picked up a stone
and smashed the skull of another
terrorist fighter. After five minutes of
hand-to-hand combat, 12 ISIS fanatics
were dead or severely injured
while the rest of the cowardly jihadists
fled in fear. Miraculously, everyone
of the Brits survived despite all of
the proud men sustaining injuries. At
least two of the brave fighters received
gun shot wounds. They eventually
walked five miles before hitching a ride
back to an SAS base with a Kurdish
soldier. All but two of them returned to
combat within a matter of days following
the incredible incident.
The SBT Says...
Two refreshing front page stories. Firstly, the UK Veterans
and People’s Party are now my chosen party, not because
they are a Veterans party (Although that is a big plus for
me) but they are talking real sense. Secondly, what more
can I say about the SBS other than ‘Well done, UK Heroes’.
A team of British Special Forces,
from the elite Special Boat Service,
have engaged ISIS in hand to hand
fighting near Mosul after running
low on ammunition.
The team were trapped in a river
bed and decided to die a ‘Soldier’s
Death’ rather than succumbing to
torture and beheading by the extremist
fighters. Reports say that they
all shook hands and said goodbye
to each other before rushing the
ISIS position and attacking them
with knives and fists. One soldier
used his weapon as a club, killing
three fighters according to reports.
The attack comes in the final stages of
the battle to retake Mosul and defeat
ISIS. Around 90% of Mosul is liberated
at the moment while an estimated
1,000 ISIS militants remain bogged
down inside the northwestern sector
of the city Senior Isis leaders have
been forced to accept that they will
lose their caliphate in Syria and Iraq
and see terrorist attacks in the West as
the way forward for jihad, according
to foreign fighters who are abandoning
the Islamist group as it faces an
onslaught in Mosul and an impending
attack on Raqqa.
Despite the ISIS defeat, the UK is still
on alert following terrorist attacks.
Page 1
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk

The UK’s No: 1 Veterans Magazine 05 Fortnightly 06/07/2017
ARMED FORCES & VETERANS NEWS IN BRIEF
SAS Suspected of
Potential War Crimes
£5,000 reward on offer to help veteran
find medals lost in Staffordshire
A Special Air Service (SAS)
unit is suspected of executing
unarmed civilians in
Afghanistan and fabricating
reports to cover up potential
war crimes, according to
reports. Special forces soldiers
allegedly murdered
Afghans during raids on their
homes and then planted
guns at the scene to make it
appear as though they had
been Taliban insurgents.
Some of the victims were
handcuffed and hooded
before being shot dead,
Royal Military Police (RMP)
sources told the Sunday
Times. Many of the alleged
assassinations relate to a
campaign of night raids
designed to bring down the
Taliban by capturing their
leaders and taking them to
detention centres for interrogation.
British Army officers
speaking to the Times claimed
some SAS soldiers
adopted a “shoot-to-kill”
policy during the missions,
which were often said to rely
on flawed intelligence.
“Credible and extremely
serious” evidence about the
potential scandal has been
gathered by Operation
Northmoor, a classified RMP
investigation based in an
underground bunker in
Cornwall. The initial inquiry,
which was investigating
unlawful killings between
2010-2013, and offences
including false imprisonment
and assault, was expected to
run until 2021. However, the
Ministry of Defence recently
told RMP officers to finish
most of their work by this
summer.
UK prepared to retaliate
against future Cyber Attack
Britain could launch military retaliation
such as air strikes against
a future cyber attack, the Defence
Secretary has suggested. Sir Michael
Fallon warned potential attackers
that a strike on UK systems
“could invite a response
from any domain - air, land, sea
or cyberspace". The Defence Secretary
said the UK's ability to
carry out its own cyber attacks
against Islamic State in Iraq and
Levant (Isil), also known as Daesh,
had saved lives during the
battle for Mosul in Iraq and the
capability was also being used in
the fight for Raqqa in Syria. Meanwhile
the head of the US Army
said governments are relying too
much on overstretched elite special
forces such as the SAS and
Delta Force to try to win conflicts.
Gen Mark Milley said it was a
myth that special forces “can do
it all” and they were being asked
to conduct missions they were
not designed for. He spoke at a
conference in London as the
head of the Chief of the General
Staff said the British Army was
now at its smallest since the time
of Oliver Cromwell. The Coalition
government cut the regular army
from 102,000 to 82,000 after the
cost-cutting 2010 defence review
However, the British Army is now
at just over 78.000.
A £5,000 reward is up for grabs for anyone who provides information
to find four World War Two medals owned by a veteran
which were lost in Staffordshire. Alfred Barlow, 95, is a D-Day
veteran who was on his way home after attending the annual
anniversary pilgrimage to Normandy earlier this month when his
medals went missing. Alfred, a corporal with the 3rd
Reconnaissance Corps who landed on "Sword" beach on the
coastline of Normandy on 6 June 1944, aged 24, noticed during
a rest break at a service station on the M6 Toll at Cannock, that
all four of his service medals were missing. Independent charity
Crimestoppers has today offered a reward of £5,000 for the
arrest and conviction of those involved and the recovery of all
four medals. In January Alfred was awarded France's highest
civil honour for bravery, the Legion d'Honneur. Lord Ashcroft,
chairman of Crimestoppers, who initiated this reward, said: "After
such a moving and poignant trip to Normandy, to lose or have
stolen his war medals has been incredibly distressing for this
brave former soldier. Whilst the actual value of the medals is
nominal, the sentimental value is enormous. Our reward reflects
the war veteran's invaluable service to our country." Actor, Hugh
Grant has also conveyed his wish to reward the return of the
medals. The medals include the 1939-1945 Star, the France and
Germany Star, the 1939-1945 War Medal &the Palestine Medal.
The Missing Medals: Reward posted for £5,000
Brecon Gurkha conquers
Mount Everest
A soldier from the Infantry
Battle School in Brecon conquered
Mount Everest to
mark 200 years of Gurkhas
service in the British Army.
Rifleman Rakesh Sunuwar,
originally from Kodari in
Nepal, successfully reached
the summit on Tuesday, May
16 at 9.42am during his
second attempt at scaling the
famous mountain. The
Gurkhas are a fierce brigade
of Nepalese soldiers who
have served under the British
Army since 1815. The original
attempt to mark the bicentenary,
on April 25 2015, was
halted due to an earthquake
early on in the expedition.
The Nepalese Government
suspended all climbs as the
path was too dangerous.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake
and its subsequent avalanche
swept away the base
camp, causing a large number
of casualties and deaths
among the many members of
the international climbing fraternity
who gather each
spring for the annual weather
window when it is easiest to
make an attempt on the summit.
The route to the summit
was completely destroyed.
Thinking back to that terrible
earthquake, He said: “It was
a tragic moment for me and
for the whole Brigade of
Gurkhas. It had taken me
three years of hardship and
intensive training to come this
far.
Facebook nightmare for Commando after attack during night out
Royal Marine’s Year From Hell
A Royal Marine said he has had
the ‘year from hell’ after a Facebook
post went viral accusing
him of assaulting a teenage girl.
Jason Raynor claims he merely
pushed away Kayleigh Rodda
when she allegedly attacked him
in Portsmouth town centre last
year. However after the then 19-
year-old girl posted pictures online,
vigilantes reportedly spent the
next 12 months threatening to
break the 28-year-old marine’s
legs. In May 2016, he had been
out with two friends when a row ensued
between himself and a group
of navy personnel. According to
the dad-of-one, Rodda, who had
been talking to the navy officers,
‘came at him’ and stuck her nails
in his head – so he pushed her
away. However a month later she
shared images of Jason on social
media along with marks on her
neck claiming that he had assaulted
her in a bid to track him down.
After the post was shared almost
40,000 times, Jason voluntarily
went to a station to speak to police
and was released with ‘no further
action’ – though thanks to the post
people still threatened to hurt him
and told his wife to leave him. A
year on, Kayleigh has re-shared
her post, describing the nightmares
that the incident left her with
and mocking Jason for claiming it
was self defence. Today, Jason
has spoken out about the abuse
he has suffered thanks to the post,
which he believes shows the danger
of social media user believing
everything they read in a post.
Jason, from Bolton, Lancashire,
said: ‘In her statement [to police],
it clearly says that she came at me
first. So I have acted in self defence
to get her away from me because
I was pinned up against the wall by
two lads. ‘I had never seen her before
in my life. I was just out on a
night out, I had been playing cricket
and I had a cup final the next
day so I wasn’t drunk. ‘It was nothing
to do with her. I was having an
argument with two lads and then
she came at me saying “don’t argue
with my friend”. ‘She came at
me and stuck her nails in my head.
My head was cut, so then I had my
head down, she had her nails in
me, there were these two lads I
was arguing with and I was on my
own so I just grabbed her and got
her away from me. ‘That’s all I did.
I just pushed her away. I don’t
know [where I grabbed her] as my
head was down, but I just pushed
her away. ‘I waited for about 10 minutes
and then I ran off. There were
no police there at the time.
‘I was advised by a solicitor to go
down the route of getting her done
as she openly said she came at me
first. But I just thought no, I want to
move on with my life, so forget it.
‘A lot of people twist things on social
media. This story is totally the
wrong way round. ‘I have had threats
and everything because people
have seen this story that she
has put online and they have been
messaging me saying they are
going to break my legs and rip my
arms off and everything. A spokesperson
from Hampshire Police
said: ‘A 27-year-old man from Somerset
was identified as being involved
in the incident and voluntarily
attended a police station to give
an account under caution. No further
action was taken by police.
www.sandbagtimes.com Page 2

05 FORTNIGHTLY 06/07/17
the uK’s no: 1 Veterans Magazine
THE SANDBAG TIMES VETERANS MAGAzINE
Local Worcester Businesses come together to help Combat Stress
Local Worcester business City Motors and
Sandbag Times Veterans Magazine has
stepped in to help a veteran attending a
‘Combat Stress’ community course.
Carl, City Motors owner has brainwaved a
plan to assist local veterans by providing
a car to help them get to and from interviews,
treatment, appointments etc.
Although Carl will supply the car, local
Veterans Magazine, The Sandbag Times
has jumped on board to advertise and
inform veterans about the scheme.
While attending the brand new Combat
Stress community course, the SBT editor
heard about on of the veterans having
problems getting to the centre. The veteran,
whose identity is with held for security
purposes needed to travel from
Kidderminster to Worcester each week to
attend the course. But thanks to cooperation
between City Motors, Combat Stress
ad The Sandbag Times it was possible to
have the veteran picked up from home
and then returned at the end of the day.
Carl is hoping that local council will support
the scheme and possibly help out to
ensure the veterans in the community are
assisted whenever possible.
The brand new community course being
run by Combat Stress is a dynamic new
approach to reaching more veterans.
Government cuts has meant that Combat
Stress, along with other charities are
having to deal with increasing numbers of
veterans needing help with highly reduced
rescources. This has lead to unavoidable
waiting lists for the residential centres
around the UK. The community courses
now allow veterans to fit treatment around
their normal daily lives.
Other course and schemes are planned in
the future including family understanding,
peer support groups, and lots more.
City Motors and The Sandbag Times are
both committed to helping veterans within
their local community and spearhead the
Community Covenant with the help of
other businesses throughout Worcester.
With current growing rate of Veterans suffering
from Combat related illnesses and
injuries SBT and City Motors are urging
communities to get involved.
Sporty Soldier Left Fatigued
and Depressed After
Contracting Life Threatening
Illness
A soldier who contracted a life-threatening
disease in Afghanistan was given
paracetamol and told he was depressed
by army medics.
“They thought I had a heat illness but I
knew I hadn’t. I was quite angry as I’d
been in the army for 13 years and been
on many tours, I had enough experience
to know about keeping myself hydrated.”
After being kept in bed for a week, the
former army engineer, who’s originally
from Merseyside, was eventually allowed
to fly back to Camp Bastion to visit a larger
hospital.
It took three months for the former Lance
Corporal to be diagnosed with Q Fever
which he picked up while serving in
Helmand Province.
Despite being prevalent in the area, the
man - who wants to remain anonymous -
wasn’t vaccinated against the disease
and developed symptoms within days of
starting his deployment.
The bacterial infection can be spread to
humans by infected animals and, while
flu-like symptoms can sometimes pass in
two weeks; they can last much longer.
The infection can also lead to life-threatening
problems if it spreads to other parts
of the body, such as the heart.
The former soldier, who recently received
a five figure sum after taking legal action
against the Ministry of Defence in relation
to the medical care he received, is keen
to speak out to raise awareness among
other servicemen who may have the
same disease and not even know it.
“It was in 2012 when I was deployed to
Afghanistan,” he said. “I was working
around a burns pit - there was all sorts in
there – it could have had animal carcasses
in there.
“Within a couple of hours of starting work
I started feeling ill and went to the clinic
on the patrol base. I had a high temperature,
was sweating heavily, coughing, feeling
dizzy, very sensitive to sunlight,
struggling to see and I felt confused. I
also had a lot of throat pain.
While the first doctor said he was “run
down and depressed” and gave him
paracetamol, he believes the second
doctor took his concerns more seriously
and ordered blood tests which the ex-soldier
believes were then misplaced.He
was then sent back to his patrol base to
continue his duties.
He added: “I was a squaddie for so many
years, I wasn’t just after sympathy. It felt
like if you don’t have broken bones or
gun-shot wounds, they wouldn’t take any
notice and I worry that there are guys in
the same situation as me who are being
fobbed off.”
After finishing his deployment, the ex-soldier,
who has served in Northern Ireland,
Iraq and Sierra Leone went straight to an
NHS hospital and it was there that they
diagnosed Q Fever.
The married dad-of-one was put on antibiotics
for six months and still has to go
to hospital every month for treatment. He
now has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and
depression which could have been avoided
if he had received treatment sooner.
He added: “I used to be extremely physically
fit and strong minded but since this
I’ve been affected physically and mentally.
I used to play football at a high level
but I tried running a few miles recently
and I was in agony.
“I’ve never suffered from stress or anxiety
before but over the last year I’ve been
bad. I’ve never gone
down the drugs or alcohol route but I can
see how some ex-soldiers do and that’s
why I really want to raise awareness that
you need to battle to get medical help.”
The Ministry of Defence agreed a settlement
out of court but refused to admit
they were at fault and the soldier has
since left the army.
His lawyer Zoe Sutton, an expert in military
personal injury claims from Slater
and Gordon said: “Members of our
armed forces do a difficult and dangerous
job. They understand the risks involved
in their work but the least they
expect is to be protected where possible.
This includes basic things such as being
issued with the correct equipment and
being treated by medical professionals
who are fully conversant with the risks of
diseases that are prevalent in the areas
where they are deployed.
“As well as not receiving prompt antibiotic
treatment in accordance with the
MoD’s own policy on Q Fever, this disease
wasn’t diagnosed until he returned to
the UK months later. Doctors here
couldn’t understand how army doctors
hadn’t recognised the symptoms despite
it being prevalent in the area.
“It’s been five years since my client contracted
this disease and he is still suffering
and worries that he will never recover.
His main priority now is to raise awareness
of this illness so that other servicemen
can gain a better understanding
and be proactive in the diagnosis to
ensure that they get the prompt antibiotic
treatment to stop the chronic effects
developing. He hopes to use his experience
to educate fellow servicemen to
look out for symptoms.”
Media Contact I 020 7657 1686 I
press@slatergordon.co.uk
@slatergordonUK I http://www.slatergordon.co.uk/media-centre/
Monday - Friday: 08:30 - 18:00
Saturday: 09:00 - 14:00
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53 Barbourne Road, Worcester, WR1 1SA
01905 616 480 - 07990 514 224
Page 3
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk

The UK’s No: 1 Veterans Magazine
05 FORTNIGHTLY 08/07/17
ARMED FORCES DAY 2017 - 24TH JUNE 2017
Another Armed Forces Day passes
by with absolutely loads going
on across the UK. The main event
was held in Liverpool while events
were held across the country
including Cleethorpes. London
and Birmingham.
However, it wasn’t just the major
cities that marked the day. Here in
Worcester, we celebrated with a
weekend of fun at the New Inn,
Claines with all proceeds being
donated to the Chennai Six. More
on that later...
The national event in Liverpool,
attended by Prime Minister
Theresa May and Prince Edward,
saw a Red Arrows flypast and a
parade to the waterfront.
The day was billed as a chance for
people to show their support for
those connected with the armed
forces.
As well as those currently serving,
the event honours veterans, reservists,
cadets, families and charities.
Parades, military displays, gun
salutes and Typhoon and Red
Arrows flypasts have been some
of the highlights.
The Royal Navy's type-23 frigate
HMS Iron Duke was docked in
Liverpool for the celebrations. A
series of displays along Pier head
also took place featuring planes,
helicopters, tanks and marching
bands.
Mrs May praised the "tremendous
job that the armed forces do for us
here at home and across the
world, helping to keep us safe".
She said that armed forces "provided
visible reassurance to our
communities" when they were
deployed on the streets after the
UK terror threat level was raised to
critical.
Troops were deployed after 22
people were killed by suicide
bomber Salman Abedi at the
Manchester Arena on 22 May.
The parade in Liverpool comprised
about 100 personnel from
each of the services, plus bands,
veterans and about 300 cadets.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael
Fallon said there are some 10,000
service men and women who are
working around the globe on operations
or in British bases.
"They've been helping to deal with
terrorism, they've been helping to
rescue migrants in the
Mediterranean, they've been on
Nato deployments, they've been
ARMED FORCEs DAY 2017
This year proved that no matter what the UK is faced with,
nothing will deter our Armed Forces and the nations confidence
to ensure that Great Britain will remain great thanks
to those who do and have ensured it remains Great.
peacekeeping in South Sudan. "All
of that keeps us safer here at
home. They're out of our sight but
they should never be out of mind,"
he said.
Meanwhile, in Grimsby, the Mayor,
Councillor Ron Sheperd thanked
the Armed Forces for their incredible
bravery and sacrifices during a
speech at the Memorial Gates,
Cleethorpes.
Thousands of people flocked to
the resort to soak up the atmosphere
and to enjoy the celebrations
of the annual event, which follows
on from last year's National Armed
Forces Day.
In his speech, councillor
Shepherd said: "Today our armed
forces are actively engaged in
operational duties across the
globe. The work they do ranges
from warfighting to peacekeeping
and, in this ever changing world,
provide security and vital humanitarian
aid in support of a safer
world and do this without question
or reward, as an enduring commitment
to our allies and friends
across the globe. He added: "I
would ask you today to also
remember that in times of conflict,
or peace, our armed forces remain
the constant which is the absolute
key to our prosperity and, in our
international role, adding to the
stability of the high seas and a
safer world in which to live and in
which to bring up our children.
Displays at Cleethorpes included
the BBMF and the Red Arrows.
Kings troop top the Woolwich Day
A day with displays by the Kings Royal Troop horses, a veteran parade,
sports and funfair rides brought the community together at
Greenwich’s free annual Great Get Together and Armed Forces Day. iThe
event was held in the stunning location of the Royal Artillery Barracks in
Woolwich on Saturday (24). The national annual celebration was an
opportunity for people to say thanks to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and
women including regulars, reservists, cadets and veterans for the work
they do. Councillor Denise Hyland, the leader of Greenwich council,
said: “The Great Get Together and Armed Forces Day is one of the
annual highlights in the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s events calendar,
bringing together thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds. This
year our free fun family day out has added poignancy and importance.
Events like these demonstrate our strong community spirit by allowing
people to come together and enjoy themselves, and showing that
attacks which seek to divide us actually bring us closer together.”
ARMED FORCES DAY
WORCESTER 2017
The tiny city of Worcester was
huge in heart this year holding a
weekend event at the New Inn,
Claines. Of course it was never
going to reach the dizzy heights
of Liverpool or London but the organisers,
landlord Keith Newby
and SBT editor Pablo Snow ensured
that the chosen charity was
not going away empty handed.
This year, the charity was
#Chennai6. Keith kept the
crowds happy with an amazing
Bar-B-Q donating all money to his
chosen charity on the Saturday.
SBT Radio DJ, Jim Wilde entertained
the masses with some great
tunes until Saturday night fell
upon the pub and the crowds
were entertained with a Las Vegas
style show featuring Neil Diamond
and Frank Sinatra. (OK, it was
Vince and Pabs but they did the
bizz). On Sunday, the BBQ was
donated to the Chennai6 along
with raffle prizes and an art auction.
Dave Smith from the charity
spent the weekend there selling
goods for the lads,. It was great
to see him there, even better for
him to take back just under £1000
from the weekend. The event ended
with an acoustic set by Pablo
and then a Karaoke for good measure.
Thanks to all who attended
including the Worcester Veterans
Breakfast Club. Hoorah!!
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk Page 4

05 FORTNIGHTLY 06/07/17
the uK’s no: 1 Veterans Magazine
MATT NEAL: MEET THE NEW PATRON OF THE SANDBAG TIMES VETERANS MAGAzINE
3 Times BTCC Champion:
A true British Motor Racing legend
takes times to support veterans.
26 Years of Racing Touring Cars:
575 Races
54 Wins
And now he has to deal with us!
It’s all Ken’s Fault!! Meet the newest
edition to the SBT Team
Matt Neal and his HONDA YUASA CIVIC TYPE R
SPEED, WHEELS,
VETERANS & THE
OSTEOTERRORIST
Sunday afternoons when we were on
tour was always an exciting time.
Not because of the intense pressure
we faced in duty but the pure adrenalin
of watching the Touring Car championship
on the box. Of course, what we
really wanted to see was the rivalry on
the track, none more fierce than Matt
Neal and Jason Plato. We loved it! Two
brilliant drivers beating the hell out of
each other with two monsters of cars. Of
course, we had our favourites. Ah,
memories! What I would do to return to
those days.
A few months ago, myself and Ken
(Sponsor and company director) were
relaxing over a pint and a roll up when
he happened to mention that one of his
patients was Matt Neal. I went straight
into Meercat Mode, ‘What was that?’ Matt
Neal? Not THE Matt Neal? Of course it
was, the Squaddie’s legend, well, track
legend at least.
“Ken give him a bell and get him to help
us out”. A month later Ken was true to
his word, I recieved an Email from Matt
saying he would be happy to jump on
board with us as our Patron. But he did
worry me a little. He actually described
Ken as a gentle man. I think he was talking
about someone else. Both Matt and
myself are Osteopathic patients of Ken
and... well, I call him the Osteoterrorist.
He is anything but bloody gentle. He
refers to his treatment as ‘smacking me
about a bit’. Pretty acurate description
really. Anyway, I’m getting off subject a
little bit. As Matt is now our Patron, I’ve
promised to give him and his team loads
of advertising and exposure. So apart
from some magazine work, we will
shortly be off to Rockingham to support
Matt, report on the racing and give the
team loads of good coverage. I have to
confess I am playing this with a double
edged sword. I love BTCC and I now
have an excuse to go to loads of races.
In all seriousness, Matt expressed his
concern about being worthy to represent
us. Well, Mr Neal, please consider this.
At times when troops are away from
home, on tour and facing ever-present
threats and dangers, you give those that
serve a bit of welcome excitement and a
very welcome taste of home and normality.
You do more than you know. You
remind us of the great things we have at
home and that is so important. Apart
from that, you have been a charity fund
raiser for the Royal Marines and
Parachute Regiment so you’re alright in
our books lol.
So finally, I would like to wish Matt a very
warm welcome from the SBT team and
look forward to meeting up for a cheeky
pint in the very near future to introduce
you to the gang. Look forward to future
updates on Matt and Team Honda Yuasa
and the very nice people at Team
Dynamics Motorsport, you never know, I
might get a brew next time I pop in, lol.
BLOODHOUND SSC
The Sandbag Times speak to the team
The RAF Cosford Airshow was something
of a fantastic day out for the
entire SBT team. The air displays
were nothing short of awesome except
for the fact that I was still chuntering
about the lack of Sea Vixen and then
unfortunately, the lack of Typhoon due to
a fault. Never mind, it all faded into the
background when I was faced with a car
which will shortly attempt to not only
break the land speed record set by the
current driver in Thrust but also attempt
to be the first car to break the 1,000mph
barrier.
I had to speak to the team to find out
more. I was introduced to Chris Ricard
from the team who enlightened me about
the Bloodhound Supersonic Car (SSC)
project. Of course, our main interest with
the team lies with the driver, Andy Green.
Andy is an RAF officer with a wealth of
Page 5
speed experience as a fast jet pilot flying
the Phantom F4 during the Cold War and
then on to the Tornado F3 in the Middle
East. Not only that he broke the last land
speed record in the Thrust reaching
763.035mph and becoming the first man
and car to break the sound barrier.
i had to ask Chris, how it was possible to
reach such a speed? Well, in short, the
Bloodhound will be powered by three
engines. Two – the Eurojet EJ200 jet
engine and the Nammo rocket/rocket
cluster – will provide the thrust, while the
third – a Jaguar Supercharged V8 engine
– will act as an auxiliary power unit to
drive the rocket oxidiser pump. All of
which will produce a massive
135,000bhp. The magnitude of what I
was beholding was very quickly dampened
when Ken wandered in and said
“What the bloody hell do you want to go
that fast for?” If I had been drinking a
cup of coffee I would have christened the
poor Bloodhound somewhat uncerimoniously.
So when will we see it run? Chris told me
that there are plans to run the car in
Cornwall for the first time to test the engines
in October. The car will only be taken
to around 200mph, and the main runs will
begin next year once a suitable surface
has been chosen.
The Bloodhound SSC is an amazing
piece of engineering. Gone are the old
days of just producing a mass powerplant
and hoofing off down some strip
until you either break a record or break
your neck. The Bloodhound is engineered
to the thousandth of a millimeter with
absolutely no margin for error.
The project is not only being driven by an
RAF Officer but it is also sponsored by
the Royal Air Force and the British Army,
so in a way, it’s one of ours. Tickets are
now available for the test runs in
Cornwall, just go to the Bloodhound SSC
website for more details. Just go to
www.bloodhoundssc.com.
Bloodhound SSC Project
Length: 13.47 Metres
Height: 3 Metres
Weight: 7.5 tonnes
Design Speed: 1,050mph
0-1,000mph: 55 seconds
Power output: 135,000bhp
Brakes:
Airbrake 800mph
Parachute Deploy600mph
Friction brake 200mph
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk

05 FORTNIGHTLY 06/07/17
the uK’s no: 1 Veterans Magazine
IT AIN’T ALL BAD - TIME TO PULL UP A SANDBAG
Tales from the Trench
(Or time to pull up a sandbag)
One of the best things about serving in the
British Forces is the humour. Troops are,
well, let’s just say ‘warped’ and at times
they need to be to do the things the
Governments ask them to do. But the
problem lies in the things they get up to
when they get bored. Sometime ago, the
Sandbag Times ran a section called ‘Pull
Up A Sandbag’. I think it may have been
a little too soon to throw all that at people
back then so I’m going to try it again now.
So sit back, relax, grab a brew and enjoy
the Tales from the Trench.
Air Supremecy taken too far
Falkland Islands 1992 (Anon)
There is no way to describe life on the
Falkland Islands without laughing. A
barren Island with no trees, lots of rocks,
sheep and penguins. The good thing
about it is the camp at Mount Pleasant
Airport. the main building is 2 miles long
accomodating around 2,000 troops of all
shapes, sizes and flavours. (Army, RN,
RaF, etc). Amazing place with no end of
boredom killing antics being played out in
every corridor, nook and cranny. Bin
diving comes to mind here, I’ll just let your
imagination run wild with that.
Anyway, I was posted there with the RIC
(Resident Infantry Company) which consisted
of chaps from 1st Bn Royal
Hampshire Regiment and 2nd Bn Queens
Regiment, soon to become the Princess
of Wales’s Royal Regiment. Good bunch
of guys!!
During my brief stay, I got to know one of
the crews from the Hurcules flight, 1312
sqn, and manager to jump on board for a
few mail drops and air-to-air refuelling of
the F4 Phantoms that were acting as
Close Air Support, pretty cool really.
Unfortunately. some bright spark in the
higher echilons decided to replace the
trusty Phantoms with four brand new F3
Tornados, along with that, brand new aircrews
who were, for want of a better word,
bloody lunatics.
It wasn’t long before trouble broke out
when, after a heavy night in the mess, a
bunch of Tornado pilots thought it would
be funny to pour some oil around the front
wheel of a Hurcules. After several days of
investigative maintenance and realising
there was nothing wrong, it took no time
to realise that the guilty party was their
new, fast jet neighbours.
So, not to be outdone, and taken in great
RAF humour the Hurcules sqn got their
own back by flour bombing the Tornado
crew room from the air. Very messy,
unfortunately the military police contingent,
who were yet to sign out a sense of
humour from the stores, threw a wobbly
shouting out all kinds of obscenities such
as FOD and Danger to Aircraft and other
stuff like that.
So, not to be outdone, when all the mess
was cleaned up and the Police were
happy, the Tornado crew, again after a few
sherberts, decided to paint a big hand
underneath one of the Hurcs with the
middle finger rampant. Unfortunately, this
time, the Station Commander saw it and
asked politely for all aircrews to grow up.
Not to be Outdone, the Hurcules Flight,
now getting slightly miffed with the whole
thing decided to buzz the Tornado crew
room with a 37 tonne plane, at a height
where one could have hitched a lift from it.
Earthquake time!! This actually turned out
to be a serious mistake and ended up
being the final blow, at least for them.
So, not to be outdone, the 1458 Flt, CAP
decided to play the same game. One
morning when no one was expecting it
and some were even still in bed, two F3
Tornado’s took off for their daily Air Patrol.
It was normal practice to fly over the airfield
once airborne as a safety observation.
This particular morning was anything
but safe. The two fighter took a good run
up at the airfield with full afterburner stayed
very low, flew above 1312 crew room
and went vertical. The ensuing shockwave
from the Jets engines nye on destroyed
the crew room. After this, the Station
Commander called both bosses into the
office for a meeting without tea and biscuits
and politely explained the error of
their ways. I wish I was a fly on the wall of
that meeting!!
Special Brew (58-Pattern)
Just remembered some naughtyness the
lads did back in the late 80's. I remember
getting a phone call from the Guardroom
SNCO that there was a debt collecter serving
papers on our Sqn. I quickly drove
over and I think it was the Britannia Music
Club but the lads had used our base
address and postcode and filled in orders
for
Christian Name: TheSqn
Surname: Kettle
Christian Name: Hugh
Surname: Jardon
Etc
Our Sqn had ordered nearly £400Stg
worth of Music & Videos !!
It was hard not to laugh as the heaviliy tattooed
debt collector who was a nasty
piece of work wanted to come onto the
base and speak to the Sqn Kettle and
Hugh Jardon et al. I sent him packing and
told him if a mail order company were stupid
enough to send CDs & Videos on credit
to a kettle then they should write it of as
Bad & Doubtful Debt and not be stupid
enough to outsource the debt and he was
stupid expecting a kettle to pay up.
Despite my 'bollocking' of the Sqn with a
glint in my eye and a big smile when I
asked that the Sqn Kettle & Hugh stopped
ordering music CD's. The lads continued.
The funny thing was about 2 weeks later
there I got Wet Wet Wet / Kylie & some
other CD in my pigeon hole. The lads had
ordered it to:
Christian Name: NiceKind
Surname: Woopert
I had to laugh and gave the CD's to the
Padre for the youth club. Thats the
humour that I miss.
Flying Wooperts (Bowser mong)
At RAF Bruggen in 1993 and an AAC fullscrew
pilot walked past two RAF officers.
As the fullscrew didn't throw up a salute
one of the crab officers got a bee in his
bonnet. "Corporal. Don't you salute RAF
officers in the Army?"
"No sir."
Asked with incredulity "Why not?"
Straight faced reply "Because we don't
have RAF officers in the Army,sir."
War poetry
Tired, torn, beneath the tree he laid on
grass
The breeze sweeping off his sweat
There was a calm he longed for long
His eyes were shut and he was taken aback
The calm was gone
Walking through the pool of blood
Trembling, shaking voices called for god
Father! screamed a voice at some distance
He knew the voice, his legs almost failed
that instance
Soaked in his mothers blood, red flowed his
tears
Far away a deer covered eyes of its fawn
This sorrow, this grief, man has called himself
upon
Helpless his hands longed to touch him
To feeble his legs could not even walk him
Whose sin was it paying off he ask
The king is also a man, no god to do his
task
The havoc he caused is being payed for
No children did he spared, nor will the
wrath do
Greed and ego, hunger for power
Driven by vices they called this hour
The war to satisfy their ego has come to
end
Lost lives of innocents will never mend
-Shamsir Alam
Battleground
They’ve eyes that are shining
They sparkle so bright
Below them a valley
The centre of all
The place they will battle
The place they will fall
Now what do they fight for
Just what is their prize
They are fighting to find out
What’s truth and what’s lies
You wont see this battle
Yet know when it starts
These battle so frequent
In all of our hearts
©karltearney
Eyes wide shut
My eyes wide open sitting in this place,
staring at nothing, staring into space.
I gently close my eyes knowing whats to
come, the flash the bang the sound of a
gun.
The things that flash by are from when i
was a forces member, hard to forget but
easy to remember. I open my eyes it’s
gone in a blink, no wonder sometimes i
turn to drink.
Its hard to dream of family and friends, i
don’t know when these nightmares will
end. My eyes have been shut for such a
long time, i hope not to need the booze,
brandy or wine
I want them to be open and let them be
mine, to turn off the dark and turn on the
sunshine
Friends
We all need them, we all need someone
to lean on, someone to share our problems
with, someone to standby us,
someone who we can enjoy life with,
and in return we do the same for them.
As we walk through life, friends do come
and go, we, or they, move on, we may
fall out with them or we may lose them
altogether. But regardless which, we
never forget them. I fell out with a friend
last year over a very silly argument. We
both had our egos beaten a little and became
very stubborn in admitting blame.
As time has gone on it has become
harder and harder for us to get back in
contact with each other and both of our
lives have now moved into different directions.
I look back on the fun times
that we shared and all of the good that
we achieved together and so miss them.
I hope so much that we will rebuild that
friendship soon. It was worth so much.
My big lesson out of this was the question
of fault. Our row was over something
very trivial that lead to hurtful
words being exchanged between us
both. So who was at fault? We both
were, is the short answer. Not for the
reasons that we argued about but for the
fact that we allowed something so precious
to fall apart over something we
shouldn't have argued over. Was it worth
all of this time without his friendship? absolutely
not. Most of the reflections I
have written can all be used here but
two of them stick out a mile for me.
Judgement and Forgiveness. I judged
my friend wrongly in quite a few ways
and in that alone I let him down. Although
I thought I was right at the time I
can see the enemy was fuelling my
pride.
Is there someone in your life that was
once very special who you now won't
speak to. Take a look at the reasons why
you were friends and ask yourself was
your friend purely at fault and were you
in a position to judge them. Then ask
yourself is a reconciliation possible. I do
hope so or why do so many talk of forgiveness.
Also consider this passage
from 1 Corinthians 13: "If I speak in the
tongues of men and of angels, but have
not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging
cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers,
and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as
to remove mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing. If I give away all I have,
and if I deliver up my body to be burned,
but have not love, I gain nothing."
Love your friends. To lose them is a sin.
The Battleground ready
It shrinks and it grows
The smart lines of soldiers
They stand in their rows
Both Armies look equal
With one dressed in red
They’ve eyes that are distant
They stare as if dead
On the opposite ridgeline
They dress all in white
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk Page 6

05 FORTNIGHTLY 06/07/17
the uK’s no: 1 Veterans Magazine
THE SANDBAG TIMES VETERANS MAGAzINE
In Remembrance
Private William Cecil Tickle
9th Battalion, Essex Regiment
On 3rd July 1916, Private William Cecil
Tickle, 9th Battalion, Essex Regiment,
was killed in action on the Somme.
Read More
Latest News
East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton
has launched a new bid to free local
man Billy Irving, who since 2013 has
languished in an Indian jail. Together
with five other UK nationals - all hired
to defend shipping against Somali pirates
- former paratrooper Mr Irving is
imprisoned in Chennai, where he is
serving a five year sentence. Legions
of supporters, from film stars to politicians,
regard the decision to jail him as
an affront to justice.
His partner Yvonne McHugh, who lives
in Neilston with their toddler son
William, has waged an unremitting
campaign to secure justice for Billy
and his colleagues, who are often referred
to as “the Chennai Six”. She has
visited the primitive jail where the men
are incarcerated and is among those
shocked at the conditions they are forced
to endure. The men’s nightmare
began when the ship they were manning
drifted into Indian territorial
waters, carrying arms intended for
defence against the pirates which
infest the Indian Ocean. The paperwork
for these weapons was in order,
but despite an Indian national court
decision to free the men the local judiciary
in Chennai insisted on jailing
them.
Now, following efforts by Kirsten
Oswald, who was MP until this month’s
General Election, Mr Masterton has
become the latest politician to take up
the men’s cause. He has met with
Rory Stewart MP, Minister of State at
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
to press the UK Government to “continue
its work” to free Mr Irving. He has
also written to the Rt Hon Mark Field
MP, Minister of State for Asia and the
Pacific, whose responsibility covers
India to arrange a meeting.
The six ex-soldiers were working for
Advanfort, a US maritime security company,
to protect ships in international
waters when they were arrested in
October 2013 for the alleged firearms
offences. Mr Masterson said: “This was
an issue that my predecessor first raised
with the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office, and I intend to
breath new life into it to ensure as
much pressure as possible is brought
to bear to secure the release of Billy
Irving.
“Mr Irving’s fiancée and young son are
my constituents and they will receive
my full support. “I cannot imagine the
stress and worry that this must be causing
for them. “Hopefully alongside
other Members of Parliament whose
constituents are detained with Mr Irving
we can work with Ministers to exert
substantial pressure for their release.”
Private William Herbert Waite
2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's
(West Riding Regiment)
On 2nd July 1916, Private William
Herbert Waite, 2nd Battalion, Duke of
Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) was
killed in action on the Somme.
Read More
Captain Sean Dolan
1st Battalion, The Worcestershire
and Sherwood Foresters
On 30th June 2007, Captain Sean Dolan
of 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and
Sherwood Foresters Regiment, died in
Afghanistan.
Read More
Signaller Paul William Didsbury
21st Signal Regiment (Air Support)
On 29th June 2005, Signaller Paul
William Didsbury, 21st Signal Regiment
(Air Support), died in Iraq.
RAF Henlow to become
Astronaut Training Centre
The world's first private space research
centre will be built at a British Royal Air
Force site in the UK.
Plans have been announced for a £120
million ($150 million) 'Blue Abyss' facility
that will be constructed at RAF Henlow in
Bedfordshire.
The centre will offer domestic and international
private space exploration firms
access to the latest training facilities.
These include the world's biggest diving
pool at 50 metres deep (165 ft), a 120
room hotel, an astronaut training centre
and a 'human performance centre' that
will help divers, astronauts and athletes
train at the highest level.
Because it will be built at RAF Henley,
the site already houses some of the facilities
needed for commercial astronaut
training.
These include a 'centrifuge base' that
exposes trainees to extreme G forces.
Blue Abyss is expected to fully open its
doors to space exploration firms in 2019.
Its pool will be three times deeper than
Nasa's 12-metre (40-foot) Neutral
Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), and won't
just be used for space training.
Offshore oil, gas and renewable companies
will be able to hire out the pool for
testing deep-sea equipment.
The centre will offer a range of experiential
‘space preparation’ packages for
groups and individuals.
These packages will run alongside its
commercial astronaut training programme
to allow ordinary people to undergo
a full astronaut training programme.
The programme is designed to ready
groups for the wave of commercial
spaceflight opportunities coming to
market, Blue Abyss said.
The company's chief executive John
Vickers said its aim was to transform
human life science research and performance
training in extreme environments.
Blue Abyss will focus on advanced
commercial diving skills, underwater
and space robotics, human spaceflight
preparation, as well as professional
athlete fitness through an understanding
of human physiology under extreme
conditions.
The announcement comes at a key
time for British space travel, after the
UK government announced last week
that it was introducing new legislation
to encourage space exploration.
Legislation aimed at making the UK the
most attractive place in Europe for
commercial space flight will be introduced
over the next two years, a spokesperson
said.
The Space Industry Bill will feature new
powers to license space ports, vertically
launched rockets and space planes.
This will help the UK increase its share
of the global space economy from 6.5
per cent today to 10 per cent by 2030,
according to the Government.
Read More
Corporal Paul Joszko
The Royal Welsh
Private Scott Kennedy
The Black Watch
Private Jamie Kerr
The Black Watch
On 28th June 2007, Corporal Paul
Joszko, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh,
Private Scott Kennedy and Private Jamie
Kerr of The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion
The Royal Regiment of Scotland, were
killed when an IED detonated in the Al
Amtahiya district in the southeast of
Basra City
Read More
Corporal Jamie Kirkpatrick
101 Engineer Regiment (EOD)
On 26th June 2010, Corporal Jamie
Kirkpatrick of 101 Engineer Regiment
(EODl), part of the Counter-IED Task
Force, died in Afghanistan.
Read More
Page 7
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk

05 FORTNIGHTLY 06/07/17
the uK’s no: 1 Veterans Magazine
THE SANDBAG TIMES VETERANS MAGAzINE
TO ORDER PLEASE CALL: 01226 734222
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