SBT Cosford Air Show Special

Tommy Atkins Centre
RAF Cosford Air Show 2019
Hi and a very warm welcome from all the volunteers at The
Tommy Atkins Veterans Centre in Worcester. We are a small
group of volunteers who are dedicated to looking after our
wonderful armed forces veteran community in any way we can.
The idea behind the centre came from Pablo Snow, who served
22 years in the British Army before finally hanging up his
beret. Sadly, like many ex service personnel, Pablo found the
transition from regimented Army life back into ‘Civvy Street’
extremely challenging, and after several years of struggle to
readjust to this he found himself in the desperation and depths
of PTSD, a very dark time in his life.
Pablo tried desperately to reach out for some support to help get
his life back together, but at that time he was passed from pillar
to post and round and round in circles in the inadequacies of
the mental health system, until eventually after 4 years and
several suicide attempts he was seen by Combat Stress and was
then able to begin the slow crawl back to reasonable health.
Once he was back on his feet again he vowed that no other
veteran would have to struggle the way he had had to in order
to find the support they so desperately needed, and the Tommy
Atkins Veteran Centre was born to signpost, assist, support
and treat any veteran who walks through the door, with all the
dignity and respect they so deserve.
We have our very own psychotherapist who works along side
of us for free, taking veterans under her wing and offering
emotional support and therapies to aid in their recovery,
and also our very own doctor, David Muss who successfully
practices his unique Rewind Trauma Therapy on those in need
of it. All the clients who have received treatment from him
Meet Our Patrons
The Tommy Atkins Centre and The Sandbag Times Veterans
Magazine are extremely fortunate to be supported by two
incredible patrons.
Three Times British Touring Car Champion and current Team
Dynamics Motorsport with Halfords Yuasa Honda driver, Matt
Neal has been our Patron and ambassador since 2017. Matt
is currently bidding for a fourth title in the BTCC 2019 but
despite his incredibly busy schedule, still takes time to visit the
centre and support veterans in the West Midlands along with
his team.
through our centre have reported remarkable improvement in
their PTSD symptoms after only one or two visits. And we are
very fortunate to be able to offer this to any veteran needing it
within days of meeting them, totally free of charge.
We also assist our veterans with homelessness, housing issues,
welfare needs, administrative tasks, benefits, in fact anything
at all we can find an answer for really. Through Pablo we have
also struck up a better understanding of The Forces Covenant
within our local housing department, which means we can now
ensure that any homeless veteran we become aware of within
our district will be found temporary accommodation on more
or less the same day.
We are here to offer a helping hand to any veteran in need,
no matter their circumstances. We do not discriminate or
judge, and we all work voluntarily to find the best resolution
to whatever issues are presented to us. We’re currently seeking
C.I.O. status to help us to secure future funding so we can
continue to be here for every veteran in their times of need.
Here’s looking forwards to a fantastic day at the RAF Cosford
Air Show. If you’re ever in Worcester, please do look us up and
pop in for a chat. The kettle is always on.....
Jane x
info@tommyatkins.co.uk
www.tommyatkins.co.uk
Hurley as our Patron. Her work is simply exquisite. She has
an unbelievable talent for capturing the emotion of conflicts on
to canvas. She has donated many prints to raise funds for the
centre as long as one of her original pieces which we are still yet
to auction. (Very hard to part with that one)
You can find out more about our patrons on the following sites:
www.mattneal.co.uk
www.poshoriginalart.co.uk
“Life is short and we need to live that life to the maximum, the
freedom we enjoy in the UK is in no uncertain part down
to our armed forces, whether active, retired or recuperating and
that is why I am so proud to be a Patron of the Sandbag
Times. What you do and have done for this country goes
beyond words…” Matt Neal.
We are also very fortunate to have War Poppy Artist, Jacqueline
| 20 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk