CALL TO COLLATE ALL VETERAN DEATHS NOW
Big Yin bodyguard Dave in bid to help traumatised troops
A CALL has gone out for Scottish and UK Governments to start work on collating veteran suicides.
Stewart McDonald MP made the demand after the Record revealed veteran deaths are climbing to one every six days.
The SNP’s defence spokesman has written to Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and David Gauke, the UK Justice Secretary, urging them to start collecting accurate data on the deaths of ex-military personnel.
McDonald called on politicians to engage with legal officers, such as coroners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Crown Office in Scotland, to kick the system into action.
He said: “I am asking you to start discussions with the Lord Advocate so the system can be changed and exact figures on suicides amongst veterans can be recorded in Scotland. With the right system in place and a strong political will, I believe we can turn the situation around.”
Veteran suicides are not officially recorded although death certificates note the last paid job.
A FORMER SAS soldier is selling his treasure trove of memorabilia to raise cash to help struggling veterans.
Ex-22 SAS sergeant David Penman has put the rare military goodies up for auction to “remember the fallen while supporting the living” at remembrance time.
The special items to be auctioned just after Remembrance Day include his special forces Rab jacket, a silk map used on ops in Kosovo, two SAS statues presented to him by his comrades and a whisky flask he used to keep him warm on operations.
In a remarkable career, David once pulled a comrade from a burning plane in Kosovo and worked as a bodyguard for Billy Connolly.
He said: “I have donated my statues, my escape map and survival jacket from Kosovo to the Who Dares Cares charity for auction to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is a great cause.”
David, originally from Falkirk but now living in Thailand, suffered trauma when he pulled a friend from the burning plane and is keen to help others. The SAS keepsakes will be auctioned at a Tartan Night Charity Ball organised by Who Dares Cares on Friday, November 30, at the Alona Hotel in Strathclyde Country Park, near Motherwell.
He added: “God forbid it happens to anyone else. I left the Army and spent 18 months gaining a Master’s degree and paying to see a counsellor twice a week. I thought I, like many others, was having a period of transition to civilian life.
“I kept up appearances as best I could. In 2004, I bodyguarded Billy Connolly in northern Somalia for a BBC Children in Need event. When I got back, his wife Pamela Stephenson, a top psychiatrist, invited me for lunch.
“On leaving, I asked her to pass on my regards to her husband. She said she thought I had PTSD.
“My heart sank, I knew things weren’t right in my head and body. I’d never heard of PTSD.
“I had been attending my GP and was on sleeping medication and anti-depressants which made me feel worse. I had tried to explain to NHS experts but it was a waste of time.
“They were incapable of understanding, never mind helping. I don’t want others to go through what I’ve been through.”
Cammy MacLeod, of Who Dares Cares, said: “These items are mementoes of an outstanding military career in the most famous regiment in the Army. We can’t thank David enough for his generosity.”
● For more details on the auction, call 01698 459311.