Blesma Community programme

Read how we're getting injured veterans into schools giving talks about overcoming adversity.

The stage is silent then Andy Reid’s steady voice cuts through the tension to set the scene of a stark hospital room filled with doctors and distressed relatives.

“I wake up. I look down and at the end of the bed I can see that there is nothing where my legs should be,” he says. “I walk my fingers slowly down my thigh not wanting to find the end, not wanting to know. “I stop. I turn to Claire, my partner, and say. You are the love of my life but I will understand if you don’t want to be with me like this. I won’t hold it against you if you walk away.” He pauses and looks into the depths of illustrious Theatre Royal, Haymarket. “She places her head on my chest and says. ‘I don’t want to be with anyone else’.”

Tears fall in the audience but this is no scripted drama. This is a triple amputee Afghanistan veteran telling his real story as part of a unique project to connect with teenagers who are heading off the rails.

Andy, and three other service veterans, are being put through a masterclass of delivery to ensure their emotional stories of sacrifice and redemption resonate with hard-to-reach kids.

The first four were given expert tuition by National Theatre actors and trainers and the chance to go on the London stage to ensure their messages have maximum impact.

The veterans are part of campaign devised by Blesma. The Blesma Community programme is training veterans to tour the UK delivering workshops to 1,000 pupils at secondary schools and youth projects.

 “I’ve been doing public speaking for about four years and thought I was ok at it. But I wasn’t delivering it with the power and emotion I could do,” says Andy, 38, who lost both legs and his right arm to a Taliban bomb in Afghanistan. “It was quite daunting being on stage but it was a great opportunity to work in such a theatre. We’ve also had workshops that have helped enormously so we are now saying something that will make an impact rather than just relaying information.”

Andy, a former Corporal in Burma Company, 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Iraq before being wounded by the IED in 2009.

“I have a few life lessons and the idea is that we tell our stories and look at what adversity the youngsters are facing be it bullying, social media pressures, bereavement, sexual orientation – all the issues that can derail teenagers – so that we can help them get some coping mechanisms,” he says.

“I was expelled from school after the 3^rd year for messing around and if someone like me had come in to talk to us then I may have changed my attitude to school and teachers and not have had to educate myself in the army.

Hopefully, they will listen to our stories and see how we dealt with things and then their problems may seem less daunting.

Andy, from Rainford, Merseyside, who married Claire and now has a three-year-old son, says that dealing with life after injury forced him to address inner demons.

“Acceptance was a big thing for me,” he adds “I accepted that I joined the Army so ultimately I am responsible for what happened to me and that has helped me move on. I woke up in a hospital bed and thought I’m a survivor, not a victim. I’m here but several of my close friends didn’t come back so out of a respect for them I need to do as much as I can.

“The schoolkids won’t have had such big events in their lives but it could be their parents going through a traumatic divorce and this could help them talk to people and say ‘I’m having a tough time’. It could help them face up to exams and be able to take themselves away from distractions so they can revise and do better.

“If it helps one teenager have a hard look in the mirror and change then it is worth it.”

His first workshop, at Abraham Guest Academy in Wigan this week, had dramatic effect with a 16-year-old pupil commenting: ‘I learnt never to give up, to keep believing in yourself’ and a 15-year-old pledging to return to school.

“The teacher said it was amazing and had a great effect on the children,” said Alice Driver, a theatre producer who runs The Drive Project, which organised the coaching for Blesma members and the school workshops programme.

“The Blesma member stories are about overcoming adversity and setting goals,” she says. “It is real life rather than a teacher going through a lecture about resilience. They will have someone who has been through it and is still going through it so they will really understand what resilience is about.

“Being able to relate that to what adversity they may have and to learn coping mechanisms they can use to overcome it will be very worthwhile.

It is also very therapeutic for the Blesma member to tell their story and to have the ability to inspire even one young person and potentially change their course is incredibly powerful.

Former Royal Marine Jez Scarratt lost his lower right leg after a motorbike accident on his way back to camp in 1982. He says the workshop training has improved his storytelling and also helped heal with the guilt about the death of the Marine who took his place on the Falklands Invasion just months after the accident.

“The biggest part for me is that I mention Pete McKay who replaced me but came back as just an arm with a tattoo on it,” says Jez, 57, from Taunton. “I used to get really emotional talking about him and it used to get to other people when I spoke about him too. It had a big impact on me. I carried quite a lot of guilt with me for many years and I think the programme has helped me get over it.”

Ex Marine Martin Kettrick was paralysed from the waist down after the rope snapped during an abseil on a Lake District military climbing exercise and he fell 40 feet in 1980.

“I’m able to tell my story in a way I’ve never done before,” says the 58-year-old from Cheadle, Staffs. “People are now with me when I tell my story. I gather them in and they are there with me on the cliff face. They are reliving my story with me. It was a good reminder to myself that there is no need to lack self-confidence and I have done some good things. It’s really raised my confidence.

“My story ends with me telling the audience my long term goals, how you can overcome difficulties. I hope that children can see that you can overcome any problem that you may face and that there is always a way to get through them.”

Barry Le Grys, chief executive of Blesma, The Limbless Veterans, adds: “Our aim is to give Blesma members the ability to tell their stories and inspire others. These inspiring individuals have all been through turmoil and regained their independence often battling against tough physical and psychological odds. Being able to connect with their communities and help teenagers draw strength to overcome their barriers means a huge amount to them. The response from schools so far has been excellent and we firmly believe this will help lots of youngsters turn their lives around.”

Secondary Schools that are interested in a free workshop please click here