OF SORROW
We need more aid from Army
FORMER Platoon Sgt Spencer Beynon died aged 43 last summer after he was Tasered by police following a psychotic episode.
He served for 15 years in the forces including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His illustrious career included duty in Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, South Korea, and Bosnia.
He helped build a school in Jamaica, was part of the United Nations Honour Guard and was a British Army advisor on terrorism to the Australian army.
His mum Margaret said sadly: “When Spencer came out of the Army it was obvious how much he was affected.
“He would be crying and screaming and he had developed a very short fuse.
“He would sit upstairs for three days straight with his hoodie over his head and wouldn’t eat or come downstairs.
“He saw a lot of terrible things and one of the things that affected him most was seeing a baby killed in Iraq. “It broke his heart and he would start to cry if he even saw a baby on TV. “His friend Ryan Francis was also killed there. Spencer had to get him out of his Warrior vehicle to save him, but sadly he couldn’t. “What these boys see and live with is terrible. Some people still don’t want to believe PTSD exists but it does. It destroys families. “He went through a lot and was never the same after that 2007 tour. “The Army didn’t look after him properly when he came out. He was struggling on £75 a week social security. “His rent was £400 a month and he had to go to the foodbank to be able to eat. “Spencer’s dad Chris added: “Spencer was Mr Macho and didn’t want people to think he had any weakness. “Soldiers are soldiers and they’ll hide any weakness. PTSD is a taboo subject.” couldn’t keep it to myself any more.” Days later Shane returned to Camp Basra and told his officers he wanted to leave the Army.
He said: “They couldn’t understand it. But I couldn’t handle it any more.
“We came back for a parade at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium but I felt disgusted. My wife said she could see a difference in me.
“She said my eyes were dead. I was cold and just a shell.” Shane tried to start a new career running food vans but lapsed into heavy drinking to block out his memories. He destroyed Army photos and even sold his medals.
Drastic
He explained: “I couldn’t have them around me for years and just wanted them gone. Thankfully I have been able to replace them since.”
He lodged a compensation claim five years ago and is now receiving weekly SGT MAJOR Glenn Ormiston hanged himself aged just 41 in 2011.
His mum Kathleen 72, says her son deteriorated rapidly after leaving the forces.
She said: “Glenn didn’t have a clue what to do afterwards because he had been in the Army all those years.
“I think there should be somewhere for the wives and family to go in the Army to tell them what’s happening before it blows up to something where they kill themselves.
“We’re the outsiders. We’ve got nothing to do with the Army at all.
“I think they should come to us and say, ‘What do you think?’
“If they had done that I would’ve said, ‘Please take Glenn into care, help him as much as you can.’”
Another veteran, Damien Brown, hanged himself in 2008. He was only 33.
Mum Sian told his inquest he would wake up screaming about the horrors of war.
Damien, of Garndiffaith, near Pontypool, South Wales, was one of the first soldiers on the scene of the IRA bomb atrocity in Omagh in 1998, which claimed 29 lives.
While serving in Kosovo he heard screams coming from a block of flats and by the time he got inside a young girl was in the crucifix position with knives pinning her to the wall.
One of his friends was killed when he slipped under the wheels of a tanker. During his time in Bosnia another 18-year-old friend shot himself dead while on guard duty.
Damien left the army in 2003 and received counselling but began to drink a lot to block out his experiences.
Sian said: “It’s important that PTSD is known about and that there is more awareness. It’s very hard getting people to open up.” psychiatric counselling. He has received two interim payments because of his claims, totalling £10,000. But he thinks assessors are dragging their heels over his final payout. The Sunday People launched our Save Our Soldiers campaign last September after telling how dad-of-two Lee Dodson took his own life aged only 40 after suffering PTSD. One serviceman or woman commits suicide almost every two weeks, official figures reveal. The charity Combat Stress says the number of veterans needing help for mental health problems such as PTSD has jumped by 71 per cent in the past five years after Iraq and Afghanistan. We are now demanding a drastic overhaul in the treatment of servicemen and women with PTSD. We want veterans minister Mark Lancaster to do more, an inquiry by MPs and more NHS funding.
Meanwhile Shane, Heather and their kids Ryan, 18, Dani, 15, and Tyler, four, are in a temporary council property.
The family fell behind with rent payments after being forced to use their housing benefit to lease a car when Shane lost part of his disability living allowance and his motability vehicle.
Shane said: “We’re not looking for a payment from anyone, just help to get a proper home.”
He added: “The deaths from the regiment are an absolute tragedy.
“I’m proud of what I did in the forces but I feel let down by them.
“There should be more help for families and I would advise anyone suffering to speak out.
“I learnt the hard way by trying to keep it all to myself.”