Bath Chronicle

One man’s tribute to our fallen heroes

- Imogen Mcguckin imogen.mcguckin@reachplc.com

A Bath man has used his “funeral money” to build a memorial to all the world’s war veterans.

Tom Mulcahy has long been involved with Minds At War - a charity that supports ex-servicemen and women suffering with their mental health.

The 72-year-old said it was “just so wrong” that so many veterans struggled to cope, and so he sought the help of Jo and Dion Drayson, who run a PTSD camp outside Norton St Philip.

Tom, a retired hairdresse­r, shelled out his savings to build the monument and said it could really be considered as an “anti-war memorial”.

“My grandfathe­r suffered from PTSD from the First World War. I remember he used to sit puffing his pipe in front of the fire and staring into the flames for hours.

“Of course, back then we didn’t know what it was, but it had an impact on all of us growing up.

“This country recently lost two ex-army guys, aged 28 and 32, to suicide. Now, that’s no age to go, and it inspired me to make this memorial.

“We’ve got this problem worldwide of veterans committing suicide and it’s an absolute scandal. If you send someone to war, you look after them, you give them the best treatment going, and they just don’t do it.

“I have used my funeral money to pay for this. So when I go, they’ll have to have a £5 whip round for me - but it’s worth it.

“It was meant to take a month to build, but it actually took me three months because of the weather.

“Then we opened on June 6 for the anniversar­y of the Normandy landings,” he said. Tom has used old army helmets and patches of sand to pay homage to the landings, as well as hoisting the flags of countries involved in modern conflict, such as Afghanista­n and Syria.

“We change the flags now and again so that all the countries in the world are represente­d.

“This memorial is dedicated to all veterans - whether they are

friend or perceived foe. I have talked to British soldiers, Syrians, Afghans, Germans, and all any of them wants is a roof over their heads, a family and food on the table.

“When someone is in trouble we can bring them down here. We make sure they are warm and fed and eventually they start to talk.

“It’s about love, as cheesy as that sounds, it’s just about showing love for other human beings.”

Jo and Dion run the PTSD camp out of their own pockets and also have two glamping pods on the farm.

“It’s amazing what they do. Last night Jo made chicken curry for 10 people and the animals are just brilliant for helping the guys destress,” Tom said.

But the memorial isn’t the only thing he wants to do for the world’s veterans. His next big challenge is to raise £4.5m to buy a campsite with 200 “family pods”.

“It isn’t just the troops who are affected, it’s the doctors, nurses, and their families. We’ve even had a fireman down here.

“I want to create somewhere where they can just come and chill out and talk about what they’ve seen,” he said.

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 ??  ?? Above, Tom Mulcahy, 72, has built a memorial to all the world’s war veterans. Flags are flown on rotation at the memorial in Norton St Philip while the helmets and sand, left, are a tribute to the Normandy landings
Above, Tom Mulcahy, 72, has built a memorial to all the world’s war veterans. Flags are flown on rotation at the memorial in Norton St Philip while the helmets and sand, left, are a tribute to the Normandy landings

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