2021
Blesma Updates for 2021, covering news, activities and fundraising events for limbless veterans.
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A live talk with Captain Craig
19 February 2021
At 2pm on the 25th of February Blesma Member Craig Wood, who became a triple-amputee aged 18 before setting off to sail the world solo, will be giving a live Zoom talk to Blesma Members. This is his story... “I had always wanted to join the British Army. I signed up at 17 and loved it straight away, it was the lifestyle that I really enjoyed. I deployed to Sangin, in Afghanistan, in April 2009, three days after my 18th birthday. Three months in, I got blown up. We had been out on a routine patrol when we stopped for a drink. When we set off again, I remember wa
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Garden given new lease of Life
18 February 2021
Injured Veteran Leigh Wilburn's garden was given a Blesma makeover, allowing him and his family some quality time outdoors during lockdown. “Before the makeover, the garden was awful,” said Leigh, who served in the Royal Armoured Corps for seven years. “There was no grass and the kids couldn’t play outside because of the mess. I started to get stressed seeing how bad it was.” A call from Blesma Welfare Rep Helen Cullen in April set the ball rolling, and by June the garden was finally re-turfed. Leigh and his children have since been
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A day in the life: Tony Bloomfield
16 February 2021
I joined Blesma in 2018 to take charge of fundraising after a spell at Blind Veterans UK. I’ve enjoyed it from Day One, and I’m delighted to become Blesma’s Operations Director and have the opportunity to help take the charity forward. I’ve been involved with the voluntary sector for 37 years. I have worked in fundraising, service provision and communications for charities and organisations involved in dementia, neurology, and post-natal depression, liaising with clinical commissioners and All Party Parliamentary Groups to further their causes and raise funds. I’ve helped advocate fo
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Fishing retreat built to help veterans with their rehab
13 February 2021
Former soldier Robert Maxwell, who lost an arm in a road accident in 2004, has opened a fishing retreat to help wounded, injured and sick veterans. He began transforming five acres of his father’s farm in Clough, Northern Ireland in 2016 with the help of fellow veterans. “When we started the project, I had no concept of what it would cost or how long it would take,” said Robert. “ Some 300 people have passed through here since the pandemic started, and every one of those veterans has really benefitted from the fishing lake,” he said. As an injured veteran, Robert knows
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