The Veteran 21 Dec 17

The Veteran
21st December 2017
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
The SBT Newspaper
SBT NEWS
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The Latest News
Have Faith
Historical Tommy Atkins
Mrs Fox...
Plus Much More...
HMS OCEAN RETURNS HOME
PROMPTING OPERATIONAL
CONCERNS OF ROYAL NAVY
EFFECTIVENESS
The Editors Bit
It’s here at last, the Yuletide season is
upon us and the panic stricken streets of
the UK are filled with the frightening sights
of husbands and boyfriends leaving things
to the last minute, as usual. Here at the
Ivory Tower, we are shutting down for a
few days to eat, drink and be merry but
rest assured we will not be that far
away.Unfortunately, even though it’s our
holiday time, life is still going on at the
Tommy Atkins Centre and Jane is constantly
being in the position of answering
the hotline and helping veterans in the
area. It is good to know that the centre is
proving to be effective but alarming to see
the veterans using the centre. I feel this
is something which has been well needed.
We are all looking forward to New Year
and the promise of a very exciting period
of reporting, hopefully on lots of good and
heart warming stories. Watch out for our
‘Airborne Challenge’ due to take place
early next year where a group of us old
age headbangers will jump out of an aircraft
with nothing more than a bed sheet
on strings to stop us from piling in to the
deck at 120mph. We will then all think we
are fit and 21 again and attempt to complete
the Fan Dance in the Brecon Beacons.
It seemed a good idea when we
were talking about it anyway... Well, all
that is left is to wish you all a very merry
and safe Christmas and a great New Year.
HMS Ocean has returned to Plymouth for
the last time leaving the entire fleet now in
the UK prompting concerns over the effectiveness
of the fleet due to cuts.
The issue comes as concern grows for the effectiveness
of the Royal Navy in light of the
proposed defence cuts. HMS Bulwark and Albion
have already been earmarked to be axed
along with up to 1,000 Royal Marines in more
cuts to the UK’s defence budget. Sources
have said that the cuts are to compensate for
the new Aircraft Carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth
and Prince of Wales. The cuts in manpower
to the Royal Marines is said to be
connected with crewing the two new aircraft
carriers which are not due to be operational
until 2021. HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently
undergoing repairs only days after it was
commissioned into the Royal Navy due to a
leak of its Propellor shaft which is repotedly
letting in up to 200litres of seawater every
hour. The return of Plymouth’s HMS Ocean
means Britain has no major warships deployed
on operations beyond home waters.
The situation has been described as an “unprecedented”
absence of British vessels on
the world stage - and a "strategic embarrassment"
for the country. All six of the Royal
Navy’s Type 45 destroyers are docked in
Portsmouth, while 12 of 13 Type 23 frigates
are either at Portsmouth or Devonport. HMS
St Albans is the only Type 23 on duty as the
fleet ready escort, which protects home waters.
Vice-Admiral John McAnally, national
president of the Royal Naval Association, told
The Times that the scarcity of frigates and destroyers
overseas was unprecedented and indicates
the fleet is too small. “I am distressed
and alarmed. I do not see that it is easily
remedied,” he said. “The only answer is an
increase in the defence budget. It is too small
to meet what government want the armed
forces to do.” A senior serving military officer
told the Times that the absence of any of the
Royal Navy's 19 frigates and destroyers overseas
was a "strategic embarrassment for the
country and a strategic embarrassment for
defence". A spokeswoman said the Royal
Navy is “deployed globally on operations and
will be protecting our national interests
throughout Christmas and New Year”. “There
will be 13 ships and submarines deployed
away and in home waters, as well as the at
sea nuclear deterrent,” she added. The Royal
Navy vessels on operations include submarines,
mine hunters and Royal Fleet Auxiliary
ships. The frigates and destroyers are
said to have returned to port for a combination
of maintenance and crew needs.
News In Brief
US making plans for
'bloody nose' military attack
on North Korea
Read more...
Read All The Latest In...
Mrs Fox Goes To War

The Veteran 21st December 2017
Inquest Hears How Veteran Hanged Himself In
Prison After Bullying Complaints Go UnHeard
An inquest has heard how a war
veteran who suffered with Post-
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
following tours in Northern Ireland
hanged himself at Walton
jail.
Bullying, debt and drug use at the
jail worsened the conditions that led
former army corporal John Duffey to
take his own life almost 18 months
ago, an inquest heard. The 44-yearold,
who had previously served with
the Royal Green Jackets, was found
in his cell on July 16, 2016, on HMP
Liverpool’s J Wing. Liverpool Coroner’s
Court heard how dad-of-two
Mr Duffey had made two attempts to
kill himself in 2000 and 2011, and
was discharged from the armed
forces on medical grounds, 17 years
ago. Afterwards, Mr Duffey, from
Wallasey, fell into a pattern of alcohol
and drug abuse. He was remanded
into custody in 2015 for
breaching his licence conditions, before
he participated in an intensive
six month scheme for “at-risk” prisoners.
The jury heard evidence that
healthcare staff within the prison
were not equipped to provide treatment
for PTSD due to staff vacancies.
No attempts were made by the
prison or healthcare team to contact
Mr Duffey’s Merseycare support
worker in the community, the court
was told. The inquest was told how
Mr Duffy fell into debt with other prisoners,
which led to bullying and
threats. The inquest heard how on
several occasions he informed staff
that he was being threatened for
debts, and identified the other prisoners.
In November 2015, he was
found in his cell with self-inflicted
cuts to his wrist and in possession of
a ligature. He told prison officers
that he had self-harmed due to his
debt. Mr Duffey’s vulnerability was
downgraded by HMP Liverpool staff,
and he was given “valuable and
trusted roles within the prison,” as a
wing cleaner and in a temporary role
assisting other troubled inmates.
But, the inquest heard, he relapsed
again into drug-use and started to
get addicted to the drug spice which
is widely available in UK jails. Last
July, Mr Duffey was found hanged
by his cell mate and died that
evening at Aintree Hospital despite
attempts to resuscitate him. Following
a five day inquest at The Gerard
Majella Courthouse, on Boundary
Street, Kirkdale, a jury concluded
that Mr Duffey intentionally killed
himself due to his mental health issues.
Read More Here
Veteran And Author, Tony McNally Speaks Out About Mental
Health To Tackle Growing Number Of Veterans Suicides
A FALKLANDS veteran has
warned more suicides will continue
to happen unless more is
done to combat the growing
number of mental health disorders
among ex-service men and
women.
Former soldier turned author, Tony
McNally, 55, issued the warning
after his autobiography which documents
how own battle with posttraumatic
stress disorder was adapted
into an audio book. The Ulverston
resident first joined the army aged
16 and was deployed to the Falkland
Islands to protect the British
territory from the Argentine invasion
when he was just 19. He said: "I
wanted to raise the profile of mental
health in the forces community and
hope visually impaired veterans can
now learn about my story. "I was
recently in the Daily Mirror and Sunday
People talking about PTSD and
the shocking amount of suicides
which will keep happening unless
more is done to help. "Two hundred
and fifty-five British military men
died in the conflict but more than
300 have committed suicide from
the Falklands, more have taken
their own lives than have been killed
and we're talking about SAS, paratroopers.
These are tough men."
After returning home from the conflict,
the father-of-two constantly suffered
nightmares and could not stop
thinking about the pilots from the
fighter jets he was ordered to shoot
down over the shores of San Carlos.
But despite receiving a diagnosis
of PTSD Mr McNally was
deemed fit for service and deployed
to Northern Ireland during The Troubles
where he still experienced vivid
nightmares and shaking, while completing
patrol with a loaded weapon.
He added: "The problem is, if you
are not injured, people think you are
OK, they can't see scars or injuries
so it's a difficult thing to get across
and some people just judge it as
weakness." Mr McNally, of Sir John
Barrow Way, has dealt with the condition
for 35 years but only began
writing several years ago at the suggestion
of a counsellor. Mr McNally
wrote his autobiography, @Still
Watching Men Burn’ explaining the
intricacies of PTSD and how he has
managed to deal with it for more
than 30 years, after taking up writing
on the recommendation of a counsellor.
The father of two was told to
channel his thoughts through poetry
and writing as he "clammed up"
whenever he tried to speak about
his condition. In recent years, charities
including Mind and Help for Heroes
have tried to raise the profile of
the illness and encourage sufferers
to speak up and help identify the
telltale signs. Read more of Tony’s
story by clicking here
Wreck of Australian Sub Found After 103 Years
One of Australia’s oldest maritime
mysteries has been solved after the
country’s first submarine was discovered
more than 103 years after its
disappearance in the First World War. The
AE1 first vanished off the New Guinean
island of New Britain on 14 September
1914, with 35 crew aboard from Australia,
New Zealand and Britain. The vessel was
the first Allied submarine loss of the war
and the first wartime loss for the Royal
Australian Navy, although the exact reason
for its sinking remains unclear. Before it
was eventually discovered on Thursday, no
fewer than 12 unsuccessful hunts for the
vessel had been carried out over the past
several decades. Australian Defence
Minister Marise Payne confirmed that it
had been located more than 300 metres
(984 feet) below the surface in a search
using a Dutch-owned survey vessel that
started only last week. Now, Payne has
confirmed that the Australian government
is trying to contact descendants of those
killed on board. ‘It was the first loss for the
RAN and the first Allied submarine loss in
World War I, a significant tragedy felt by
our nation and our allies,’ Payne said in a
statement. He also confirmed that a
commemorative service was held to
remember those who died after the
vessel’s immediate discovery. Australia will
now discuss with the Papua New Guinean
government the building of a lasting
memorial and ways to preserve the site.
The AE1 made its final contact with an
Australian ship at 2.30pm on the day it
disappeared. At the time, villagers on a
nearby island at the time spoke of seeing
a ‘monster’ or ‘devil fish’ that quickly
disappeared into the water. It has long
been assumed that the AE1 was not
sunken by enemy action, as the only
nearby German vessel was a small survey
ship. It is also believed that the AE1 sank
intact because no bodies were found, most
likely striking a reef that punched a hole in
the pressure hull.
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21st December 2017
The Veteran
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The Veteran 21st December 2017
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...
Mrs Fox Goes To War...
The Chronicles Of Little Hope
1939 - 1945
The Daily Fox...
Hilda Ffinch
The Bird With All The Answers...
Letter Of The Week...
Dear Ms Ffinch,
And before we knew it, it’s here. Mum’s have been out buying
Christmas presents since July, Dads are waiting for
Christmas Eve, Kids are getting hyper... The feeling is nothing
short of magical. So for this reflection, I am not going to
spoil the feeling for anyone, we have spoken about remembering
those less fortunate in the previous editions and while
they are very much in our mind let’s take a few moments to
just feel great about the most wonderful time of the year.
I do have to say though, walking around the shops doing my
own Christmas shopping gets a little annoying hearing Slade
and Wizzard for the 50th time that day (Yes lads, that’s right,
mine’s already done - take a tip, do it early and the other
half gets so impressed. Loads of brownie points) But regardless
of the non-stop Christmas musical ritual, everybody’s
faces are glowing. Some from the chilly weather but
most from excitement. All I can say is thank you Jesus!
Gift giving is the tradition that represents how the three wise
men presented the baby Jesus with Gold, Frankincense,
and Myrrh. So without thinking about it we celebrate the
birth of Christ in that wonderful way.
There are other ways too. How many of you will go and
watch your children or grandchildren acting in the school Nativity?
How many of you go to Midnight Mass? Here’s a
very common one, how many of you say ‘Merry Christmas’?
I think most of us do. But how many of you stop to think
about what you are actually saying? You are wishing the recipient
a happy Christ’s Mass. You are wishing them to be
happy on the day Christ was born. Absolutely wonderful!
So many reasons to be happy. It never fails to amaze me
just how many songs at Christmas time say the right thing.
Not just carols, but a lot of the pop songs too. Of course I’m
not talking about Santa or the party stuff but the wishes of
good will and the messages from the heart. One thing I do
know is that we all sing them, especially when the wine
flows.
So to conclude a reflection of a few nice thoughts about
Christmas, I thought I’d leave you all with a few words written
by the Peter Pan of Pop, yes, Uncle Cliff. Hopefully,
these words will help you to think about Christmas in the
right way and give you hope for the coming year.
A time for living
A time for believing
A time for trusting
Not deceiving.
Love and laughter and joy ever after
Hours for the taking
Just follow the master.
Harry Roy's song about a pussy cat sounded
perfect for the tea dance at the church hall...
Someone had been stoically sampling the
communion wine again...
www.mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk
I've tried erecting an Anderson shelter in the
back garden but I'm struggling to get it up.
Mrs Risqué thinks it may be due to the
draught around the back but I'm not sure -
I've managed to get it up outdoors before (August
bank holiday Monday, Taunton, 1933 to
be exact). My wrists are quite weak and I find
the screwing particularly difficult.
I just don't know what I'm doing wrong!
Please, could you give me some advice, or
even better come and give me a hand?
Yours,
Tad Risqué
Dear Tad Risqué,
Really! I have to say that this is the first time since the
war started that I've come across a fellow who wasn't
able to get one up in the great outdoors. Look
around you, the village is full of men of your age
going at it hammer and tongs and displaying some
very fine erections indeed. Colonel Ffinch and Mr
Percy Mountjoy managed five between them on Saturday
last and might have got another one up if the
sun hadn't gone over the yardarm and it was time for
tea.
Put your back into it, man, for heaven's sake! If you
do find tightening your nuts particularly difficult then
I'm more than happy to send my lame gamekeeper
Dick Scratcher round to help you with the screwing on
Tuesday, assuming that he's not still up at Agapanthus
Crumb's.
Battle on and think of England, never mind the wind
round the back, just get it in the hole and you'll be
away!
Yours,
Hilda Ffinch
The Bird With All The Answers.
Merry Christmas everyone, and have a faithful New Year.
4 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk