Blesma News
Latest news from Blesma, The Limbless Veterans
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Poetry readings for Remembrance
21 October 2020
As we all know Remembrance Day 2020 will be different from any other. Although the Coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of many National events, such as the Annual March to the Cenotaph, we know that many of our Membership, along with the wider military community, will nonetheless be looking to mark Remembrance in their own personal ways. Once again, it is a time to consider how to mark this poignant event, even though we are apart, and remind our community that Blesma is as united as ever and more together than ever. We are hoping to gather a col
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A beacon of hope for amputees everywhere
20 October 2020
A decade ago, a PhD student from Imperial College London, who was also in the Army, noticed the types of injuries that troops were sustaining from landmines detonated under vehicles in Afghanistan. He believed some of these injuries could be prevented, or the outcomes improved, and studies got underway. The project was initially called Imperial Blast and was a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and Imperial College London. In 2011, it morphed into the Centre for Blast Injury Studies (CBIS). Since then, the Centre has become a bustling hub of research into numerous t
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In the spotlight: Chris Jones
18 October 2020
Chris has been a Blesma Welfare Volunteer, a position historically known as Welfare Rep, for 15 years and a Member for 54. He steps down from his role in September and has received another Blesma award for his hard work. “I became a Welfare Rep for Gloucestershire in 2005. I had just been medically retired from the Civil Service, and after travelling around America and Australia for several weeks, retirement hit me like a brick. The phone never rang, I missed the social aspect of work, and I struggled with having so much free time. I began to look for a volunteer rol
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Alex gets Blesma-funded bike as he trains for RAAM
16 October 2020
A Blesma-funded bike has been a “godsend” for Alex Krol during lockdown. Alex was selected for Blesma’s 2020 Race Across America team, but after turning up to a training day in January with what his teammates called a ‘donkey of a handbike’, Blesma stepped in to get the former Royal Marine a more suitable set of wheels. “The new bike is phenomenal and it has given me something to focus on,” said the 38 year old from Merseyside. “I rocked up to the first training camp and Mike Griffith, the Team Director, told me I was sitting too high in my bike and tha
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