Helping others fight their
HE’S fought his own mental health battles and is now facing up to cancer.
But for ex-soldier Levi Crombie, helping others emerge from the darkest of places has become a passion.
During 10 years with the Army Air Corps – the combat aviation arm of the British Army – Levi served around the world.
His service included eight months on Operation Herrick 17 in Afghanistan in 2012-13, a stint which would leave a lasting impression on him.
After leaving the Army on medical grounds in 2015, a cocktail of mental health issues left him struggling.
But not only has he pulled through, a Facebook support group he set up earlier this year with partner Danielle Frankland already has 2,000 members worldwide.
And it’s the success story of that group, 24se7en, which has seen Levi, of New Marske, nominated for a Gazette Community Champion award.
Levi, 32, was a signalling expert in the Army, helping coordinate missions for his colleagues in the air.
But life was turned on its head when, in 2015, a triple compound leg break while playing football saw him medically discharged.
He said: “I survived Afghanistan and that happened. It was my life, it was taken away and since then, it’s been difficult.
“I left the Army with every single mental health problem under the sun – tablets galore, PTSD, anxiety, depression...you name it, I had it.
“It was ‘war’ which caused it – the things I was seeing, the things I went through, getting hit by mortars, the people you lose.
“And once I got back, you’re expected to get on with things – the “man up” mentality. But I knew I was struggling and eventually, I decided to see someone.”
That crucial decision helped Levi fight back. And earlier this year, while working as a private contractor in Iraq, he decided to use his experiences to help others.
But for the dad-ofthree, who originally hails from Fife in Scotland, it was events on Teesside which convinced him to set up 24se7en.
He said: “Three lads in the New Marske and Redcar area committed suicide within a short time of each other and it was affecting everybody.
“Even though I didn’t know them personally, I wanted to do something. And from that little Facebook page begun in Iraq, the next minute, I was getting people from France, Europe, America, Australia...
“You hear people say ‘it’s OK not to be OK’ and that’s true, but I didn’t want to just say something – I wanted to do something about it by giving people a platform to share how they were feeling.”
While in Iraq, Levi was given another bombshell to deal with – testicular cancer. He was flown to Kurdistan, then brought back to Britain.
That cancer’s been treated, but it has since spread to his blood, lungs and abdomen.
He’ll have his last round of chemo this week before decisions are made about what happens next.
But buoyed by 24se7en, and his