2021
Blesma Updates for 2021, covering news, activities and fundraising events for limbless veterans.
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Activities Survey: Gaming events
18 June 2021
The Blesma Activities Team is once again calling out for Members to give their views – this time the topic is gaming! E-Sports is the name given for competitive video gaming. With the expansion of the digital age, playing video games online has become not only much more simple, but also much more mainstream. Blesma’s E-sports team has grown from strength to strength in a very short time frame, and the team are soon set to be facing off against other military charity teams, including the RBL and Help for Heroes. Now that Blesma has embraced online gamin
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Benefits Update
16 June 2021
Welcome to the Bulletin’s regular section on the benefits system. As well as highlighting some useful information regarding the benefits system, on occasions we will be raising awareness of some health and social care matters. If you would like to discuss your benefit entitlement or have a social care query, please contact your Blesma Support Officer. Alternatively, you can contact Liz Watling in the Independence and Wellbeing team by email at iwabenefits@blesma.org or by calling her on
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Home Office/MOD Policy consultation - Settlement fees for non-UK personnel
12 June 2021
The Home Office and MoD have launched a public consultation on proposals for the UK Government to waive the fee charged by the Home Office for Non-UK Service Personnel who have served for at least twelve years and wish to settle in the UK. There are over 10,000 non-UK citizens serving in the UK Armed Forces from countries including Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, St Lucia and South Africa, many of whom may consider applying for indefinite leave to remain in the UK when their service ends. Currently non-UK Service Pe
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Learning new skills restores sense of self
10 June 2021
Blesma Member Gavin Brechany has launched a YouTube channel to teach and inspire others how to restore a range of items. “I served in the Royal Navy for 12 years before joining Hampshire Constabulary in 2005, but I sustained an injury on duty in 2016 that led to the amputation of my left leg,” said Gavin. “I decided to use the skills I’d gained in the Navy to do some restoration jobs. You can have an identity crisis when you lose a career, so it was a chance to reinvent myself.” Gavin has already restored a number of bicycles and developed new skills, a
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