Soldiers’ plight remembered
They are set to travel a route taken by soldiers returning home from the Great War 100 years ago.
A group of Kiwis have organised a fundraising trek on horseback to highlight the plight of those suffering post traumatic stress injury (PTSI).
Organisers hope the event will send a message to PTSI sufferers that they are not alone.
The Long Road Home fundraiser began at St Arnaud on January 5 and will follow a 110-kilometre trek to Hanmer Springs. Ten horses and riders plus support arrived in Blenheim before beginning the Marlborough-Canterbury high country trek.
Despite 30 degree Celsius heat, the riders dressed in woollen greatcoats paraded on the grounds of Blenheim School.
A memorial service was also held with the backing of members of the Marlborough Returned and Services Association (RSA).
Organisers Bernard Shapiro, Murray Hill and president of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Charitable Trust Mark Appleton, said they wanted to recognise that PTSI was a problem faced by both service personnel and civilians alike. ‘‘The event sends a message to PTSI sufferers that: you will not walk alone.
‘‘It remembers that soldiers returning from WWI were often left to make their own way home.
‘‘Many felt abandoned, hopeless and segregated from their fellow Kiwis after witnessing the horrors of war.’’ Suicide rates spiked among veterans in the 1920s, Appleton said.
A special service will take place at the end of the trek in Hanmer at the Soldiers’ Block of Queen Mary Hospital on Friday.
For further information and to donate visit givealittle.co.nz