Who cares about our soldiers?

10:35am Friday 14th September 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

WHEN Terry Walker's war pension was slashed just months before his death, his family and friends were left in shock.

Terry, from Wheldrake, returned from the Gulf in 1991 with his physical and mental health ruined. In 1992, he was invalided out of the army, suffering from mood swings, flashbacks, swelling joints, bowel problems and blinding headaches.

It took Ministry bureaucrats seven years to award Terry a war pension in recognition of his disability.

Then, just before Christmas last year, that pension was cruelly slashed by 60 per cent.

Following his death, both his war pension and his army pension were stopped altogether.

His parents, Ted and Hazel were left fighting for financial help for his two children, Stefan and Kirsty, aged 17 and 13.

Terry's story was utterly compelling, and prompted a Press campaign to win justice for his children.

But according to the Royal British Legion, there are many more ex-service men, who have not been properly compensated by the Ministry of Defence.

The organisation, which launched its hard-hitting campaign today, claims Britain has failed to live up to its duty of care to its armed forces and ex-servicemen and women.

It wants to highlight the Legion's Military Covenant, a mutual bond between the nation and its armed forces, to ease the plight of wounded service personnel and bereaved service families.

Demands include: l A just compensation scheme recognising the commitment and sacrifices made by those serving the nation l Greater commitment to support the physical and mental health of service personnel and their families l More support for bereaved families.

Frances Done, Director General of the Royal British Legion, says the nation has failed to live up to its commitments under the Covenant and some people have been left to struggle alone once they leave the services. She said that charities such as the legion are increasingly being called upon to fill the gap.

"The issues have reached a critical stage," she said.

"They require the immediate attention of parliament and must be seriously addressed by all parties in the next general election.

"Thousands of our servicemen and women are putting their lives on the line for us at this moment. They do not hesitate to fulfil their duty and neither should we.

"A career in the armed forces is unique. Those who join know they will have to follow orders, even if this leads to their death.

"This bravery should be recognised and rewarded with the provision of proper care for service people past and present, and their families should the worst happen."

Unfortunately, Terry's family know the struggles of the "worst" happening all too well.

Terry's mum Hazel, 68, believes that her son, who was divorced, thought his children would be provided for.

"When Terry's pension was slashed, he was really upset," she said.

"He came down here and he was almost in tears. He asked how am I going to pay my bills?' "But I think he thought his pension would carry on for his children.

"When he died, we thought the payments would carry on to help the kids but they didn't. If he had still been married his wife would have got so much but they have forgotten about the children."

Joining the Army was a dream come true for Terry.

As a boy, he played with Army toys, made Army models and even painted work that appeared in a German cinema to promote the film A Bridge Too Far.

He was "Army barmy" until the day he died, says Hazel, and would have served longer if he had not become ill.

"I think the Ministry of Defence has got to change its ways and look after all the soldiers," said Hazel. "If they're killed you've got to support the families.

"Terry wasn't interested in getting money from them; he just wanted help, for them to show he was ill and for them to accept there is Gulf War Syndrome."

Ideally, Hazel would have liked to see the MoD put money in a trust fund for Terry's children Kirsty and Stefan.

"I think they should get a good pay off and put the money into a trust fund for when they are 18. That's when they need money, for university or college or to go travelling or to get a flat. And the money should be there," she said.

The British legion's campaign has won high-level backing - including from former Army chief General Sir Mike Jackson.

There were hard-fought battles over compensation with the Treasury, whose heart was "a little stony," he said.

"People get bogged down in the minutiae of the rules and don't really look at what the outcomes are.

He added: "It is not just a question of having the Ministry of Defence or the Treasury, it's also a question of the nation having this sense of value of its servicemen."

Armed forces minister Bob Ainsworth said he welcomed the campaign, but did not think the covenant had been broken.

"Making sure that the covenant is upheld, particularly when we are asking our people to do so much, is very important," he said. "For this reason we keep the support we provide to our personnel and their families under constant review.

"There are areas where we have already made significant progress, but we acknowledge that we must do more. These areas include mental healthcare for veterans, compensation, inquests and accommodation."

Mr Ainsworth said he was working with the NHS to develop a new model of community-based healthcare for veterans. In 2005, the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme was introduced, which offers an upfront, tax-tree, lump sum payment and provides the Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP) for those who are more seriously injured.

The MoD has also worked with the Ministry of Justice and individual coroners' offices to reduce the time that it takes to hold inquests.

"Fulfilling our part of the deal is not always easy and takes both time and money," he said. "Clearly, as a defence minister I accept that I have a role to play in leading this debate, in partnership with other Government departments, with charities, with the public and with the Armed Forces to makes sure that the covenant is upheld."

Parents in fight for Terry's full pension

WHEN former war hero Terry Walker died in June, aged 48, his elderly parents were left with nothing other than their own pension to help bring up his two children, Kirsty, 13, and Stefan, 17.

Since then, The Press has been campaigning to restore the former Gulf War veteran's army and war pension - which the Ministry of Defence cut off the moment he died.

The Press also wanted bureaucrats to write off £243 paid to the family after Terry had died.

This week we celebrated a significant victory - after Government officials agreed to restore a percentage of Terry's Army pension.

Last month, red-faced bureaucrats apologised for the distress they caused the family and agreed to waive their demand for a refund of his last pension payment.

Terry was invalided out of the Army in 1992, a year after serving in the Gulf War, his health in ruins.

He campaigned significantly over the years for official recognition and help for victims of Gulf War Syndrome.

In 1998, he was granted a 100 per cent war pension after being diagnosed 80 per cent disabled by the War Pensions Agency. But shortly before his death this was dramatically cut to only 40 per cent, before being axed completely on his death.

The family are still waiting for confirmation of how much of Terry's £306-a-month Army pension they would receive, but explained that had he not been divorced, his children would have been entitled to 20 per cent of it.

Ted said earlier this week: "The fight is not yet over. We will keep pressing to have his full 100 per cent war pension transferred as well as his army pension because I believe it is the right of his children to have it."

What other veterans and families have to say

AS a young corporal with the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment, Mike Sullivan was among the first British troops to patrol the streets of Northern Ireland at the start of the Troubles.

Thirty-eight years later he is a retired major who runs the Regimental Museum in Tower Street.

He believes the British Legion is "absolutely right" to raise the issue of how this nation treats its armed forces, and veterans and their families.

Major Sullivan wouldn't go so far as to say that the Royal British Legion's Military Covenant - a mutual bond between the nation and its armed forces - had been broken. But it had certainly been stretched, he said.

The public supported the army and wanted better treatment of soldiers and veterans, he said.

"But whether the Government feels the same way is a little open to debate."

The way that some Iraq veterans had been treated was "not good enough," he said.

"The armed forces minister will argue that things are being done - but things are being done very, very slowly," he said. "This has to move higher up the list of priorities."

Sue Benson's son Dave is an army hero who was honoured by the Americans for his courage during the 2003 Iraq war.

Since returning from Iraq, however, he has suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. His condition has landed him in trouble with the law - after learning that a friend had died in Afghanistan, he snapped and got involved in a drunken car chase with the police.

After pleading guilty to making a false phone call, drink-driving and dangerous driving he was given a two-year supervision order by a district judge at York magistrates court.

The judge described him as a "war hero who is suffering."

Sue, from Haxby, said today that since returning from Iraq, Dave had had almost "no support at all."

Welcoming the British Legion's campaign, she said there needed to be a fundamental change in the way in which veterans and their families were treated.

"The status of veterans needs to be raised," she said. "They need to be valued. What they have done, and the sacrifices they have made, needs to be acknowledged."