Medics rugby 2013 by Simon Osborn

MEDICS RUGBY CHALLENGE

Programme £2

5 November 2013

Contents Welcome Surgeon Commander Anthony Lambert OBE RN ...........................................................

Commandant General Royal Marines Major General Ed Davis CBE RM .......................................

Team Supporter Richard Egington .....................................................................................................

Peninsula medical School Professor Robert Sneyd .........................................................................

Herrick 17 and 18 Role of Honour ....................................................................................................... 10 Plymouth and Exeter Medicals RFC Ali Ward ................................................................................... 12 Hasler Company WO Jim Morris RM ...................................................................................................... 14 Brothers Capt Ed Porter RM ............................................................................................................... 15 Letter from Camp Bastion A Surgeon ................................................................................................. 16 United Kingdom Medical Group Surgeon Commander Chris Streets RN ..................................... 20 Royal Marines Squad ........................................................................................................................... 23 Medics Rugby Challenge ..................................................................................................................... 24 Plymouth and Exeter Medicals Squad ............................................................................................... 25 Devonport Services Under 16 squad ................................................................................................. 26 The Youth Match .................................................................................................................................. 27 Ivybridge Under 16 Squad .................................................................................................................. 28 The Long Road to Recovery Corporal Jay Hare RM ......................................................................... 30 From Marine to Civvy Andy Grant ...................................................................................................... 32 The Way We Were ................................................................................................................................ 34 Help for Heroes Summer Ball Corporal Ryan Gorman RM ............................................................. 36 Holiday for Heroes Lieutenant Colonel Richards RM ...................................................................... 38 Major Sponsors .................................................................................................................................... 44 Medics Rugby Challenge Sweetheart ............................................................................................... 42 Sponsors ............................................................................................................................................... 45 Medics Rugby Challenge 2014 ........................................................................................................... 48

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Welcome! Five years ago I was on my first tour of Afghanistan and thought about a game of rugby between the Royal Marines and the Peninsula Medical School. The first game in 2009 was well so supported it has become an annual event on the Tuesday before Remembrance Sunday. Here we are on Medics Rugby Challenge number five! After a pretty even start to the games, ‘Royal’ have dominated over the past two years with their additional weight and fitness taking its toll in the last quarter of the games. Only one game ahead in the series, who knows what spectacle this year will produce?

continue to support this event and add spectacle and reverence to the occasion. From a personal point of view, I was honoured to be awarded an OBE in this year’s New Year’s Honours. It was a very special day that I was able to share with family and friends and included informal tour of Buckingham Palace. A big thank you to those that put my name forward and to all of you for your support of our injured and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. On that note, it is the Corps 350th birthday next year. The next Medics Rugby Challenge is on 4 November 2014, so let’s make that date a birthday party to remember!

40 Commando returned from Afghanistan in April and that was probably the last deployment of Royal Marines in those numbers to Helmand Province. One pleasing thing about this year’s MRC programme is the fact that the Role of Honour has reduced to only one page and has two photos on it to fill the space. Our thoughts are with their families and friends and also with those that have returned from deployment with life changing injuries. Some of the marines I met on my first Helmand deployment are now settled into their new way of life. Some remain in the Corps as they undergo yet more surgery and continue their rehabilitation. I still find it amazing how these guys have overcome their injuries and simply soldier on. A couple of them have written ‘a dit’ for this year’s programme. The Royal Marine Band Ser vice, our casualty handlers and administrators when deployed, will be putting on a marching display again this evening before the main game. Internationally renowned and recently returned from Australia, the Plymouth Band

Surgeon Commander Anthony Lambert OBE MSc MS FRCS (Gen Surg) Royal Navy Event Organiser

Commandant General Royal Marines It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you to the Medics Rugby Challenge. This ‘hoofing’ event continues to make a significant contribution to our ability to care for those that have suffered, and continue to suffer, through their selfless service for our country. I am profoundly grateful to you, the spectators and sponsors, for your steadfast yearon-year support for the event; and to Anthony Lambert, the event’s organiser-inchief, for his inspirational and unrelenting leadership. All of you should be very proud of your muchappreciated helping hand; without which, this event would simply not happen. Before you sit back and enjoy your next beer watching the match, a few words about what the Corps has been up to during the last year. In April of this year the last Royal Marines Commando Unit, 40 Commando, to deploy to Central Helmand in Afghanistan before the UK’s combat mission ends in 2014, returned to the UK. The Unit’s return marked the end of the Royal Marines’ twelve-year contribution to this most demanding of counter-insurgency campaigns.

A contribution that has seen the Royal Marines complete just shy of 15,000 individual six-month tours of duty; tours of duty that have demanded that the men and women of the Corps accomplish extraordinary feats day in and day out. They have kept our Country safe and, in doing so, helped give the disenfranchised and vulnerable Afghan people a chance of a better life. Their humanity, unyielding soldiering and insatiable desire to make a difference, has made the difference. Their service and sacrifice has been inspirational. With 40 Commando having now left Afghanistan, it is time for the Helmandi people to seize this hardwon chance of a better life – I believe they will. For us, as ever, our top priority remains caring for the 61 bereaved families and the 256 injured Royal Marines who bare the scars of making this difference. So what next for your Royal Marines? Having worked hard to maintain our unique amphibious crisis response skills, at sea and from the sea, throughout our time in Iraq and Afghanistan, the short answer is ‘back to the future’. A short journey for an agile-minded Commando.

Commandant General Royal Marines As a core component of the UK Defence’s nascent Joint Expeditionary Force the Lead Commando Group – currently 42 Commando deployed onboard the Royal Navy’s specialist Amphibious shipping in the Middle East – is once again ready, at a moment’s notice, to protect our Nation’s interests and people around the globe when trouble comes knocking. We have learnt the relevant lessons of the last twelve years of fighting ‘amongst the people’ during the UK’s campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and are applying them to tackling tomorrow’s security challenges. From providing in extremis law enforcement support to the police in the UK ( just as 43 Commando and 539 Assault Squadron did during the 2012 Olympics), to rescuing UK citizens living or working abroad when they get caught up in crises such as the ongoing instability in Africa and Middle East, to combating terrorist networks ashore and protecting international shipping lanes from pirates, the Royal Marines – operating hand-in-glove with the Royal Navy – is ready to save our citizens’ lives and assure our Nation’s economic prosperity. As ever, the Commando Mindset of ‘first to understand; first to adapt and response; and first to overcome’ will be crucial. With 40% of the Corps’ 6602 personnel routinely deployed either on operations or at less than five days notice for operations, ‘back to the future’ as the UK’s conventional military ‘999 Force’ will continue to be the Royal Marines’ unique selling point.

This cordial responsibility is only made possible by events such as the Medics Rugby Challenge. Enjoy the match; and, as you do, may I pay tribute to Anthony, the sponsors and all of you spectators here tonight for caring enough to support this most worthy cause. On behalf of the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund, I thank you for your concern and generosity… Come on Royal! Major General Ed Davis CBE RM Commandant General Royal Marines

As a Corps Family, we have no greater responsibility than meeting the longterm needs of each and every one of our brave Warriors who continue to give their all to secure our Country’s future.

Richard Egington

Rick was born in Warrington, that well known rowing centre within the UK. As a child he was more interested in sport and finding the boundaries of everything, than academic work. He took up rowing at the age of 17 at Warrington Rowing Club, where a coach said ‘if you apply yourself you could be really quite good at this’. After a few months, this wise man also suggested that to further his rowing, Rick probably needed to go to university. So for the next two years, a little academic work fitted alongside messing about on the river. After graduating from university, he joined the Leander Club in Henley-on-Thames, the most prestigious rowing club in the world. Within two years he joined the national

team coached by Jurgen Grobler. Rick was part of Team GB at two Olympic Games winning a silver in 2008 and bronze in 2012. He also represented GB at seven world championships winning silver and bronze and is a double world champion. One of his proudest moments was being elected Captain of the Leander Club over the period of the London Olympiad. Now retired from competitive sport, but never failing to suggest that no one ever trained as hard as him or stating he should be running the sport, he works for an orthopaedic trauma implant company. Rick is proud to support the fifth Medics Rugby Challenge and do his bit for our injured.

The Button Cup As last year, WATERCOOLED SURF is delighted to be the major sponsor for the Medics Rugby Challenge this year in support of The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. We are pleased once again to present the BUTTON CUP as the now perpetual trophy for this important fixture, which we are sure will be an exciting and hard fought contest. As some will know, the cup is named in the fond memory of Malcolm Button, a friend and former member of our staff, whose enthusiasm for and lifetime involvement with the game of rugby makes him a worthy candidate to be remembered in association with this worthwhile event. If he were here today, I’m sure we would all enjoy his “erudite critique” of the match! Regrettably, he is not here, but his cup is. He would be very proud. Peter Adams

Peninsula Medical School Plymouth is a garrison city and I’m proud to work with military medics at Derriford. They and the troops they support have our gratitude and full support.

So that’s all clear then! Anyhow I’m looking forward to enjoying the match and raising funds for a really important cause. See you at the game!

Medicine and rugby have worked well together since the sport began. Jamie Roberts is only the latest in a long line of elite sporting medics – especially from Wales. Back in the West Country, we’ve had medical school teams since we founded the Peninsula Medical School in 2002. We’ve beaten the Marines in the past – let’s do it again. Plymouth and Exeter have now set up separate medical schools but rugby remains a common cause and the Royal Marines a common adversary. This match is themed around anniversaries, so what better anniversary to celebrate than the thorough medics victory in 2010? Now the serious question of who is going to do the hard work – the forwards or the backs? Australian journalist and player Peter FitzSimmons wrote: “Rugby backs can be identified because they generally have clean jerseys and identifiable partings in their hair… come the revolution the backs will be the first to be lined up against the wall and shot for living parasitically off the work of others.” and “Forwards are the gnarled and scarred creatures who have a propensity for running into and bleeding all over each other.”

With best wishes Robert Sneyd Dean, Plymouth Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry

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HERRICK 17 and 18: Roll of Honour

Captain Sapper Kingsman Lance Corporal Corporal Fusilier Private Lance Corporal WO

Walter Richard David Jamie William Samuel Robert James Perran

Barrie Walker Shaw Webb Savage Flint Hetherington Brynin Thomas

1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 28 Engineer Regiment 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancasterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Regiment 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Intelligence Corps Royal Corps of Signals

Plymouth and Exeter Medicals Rugby Football Club

My freshers’ year at Peninsula Medical School was the first year Medics Rugby Challenge started. As I sat watching as a first year from the stands, all I could think was, “I want to be in that game”. After all, who wouldn’t want to warm up to the sound of the Royal Marines band, sing the National Anthem and run out onto the floodlit Brickfields to play a fiercely competitive game of rugby? To represent the Medical School in such a fixture, raise money for such a noble cause and remember those who have lost their lives makes for something special. This year sees the fifth instalment of the Medics Rugby Challenge and as the landmark occasion appears on the horizon, I, as President of the club, have never been so nervous or excited. Having built up a club that could field two teams in the 2010/11 season with results to match its numbers, fifteen newly qualified doctors left the club

the following year. Since then we’ve been rebuilding the club and as the Medical School separates into separate Medical Schools, based here in Plymouth and Exeter, and the two halves withdraw into their respective corners of Devon, we’ve had to rebrand ourselves as Plymouth and Exeter Medicals Rugby Football Club. What remains consistent though, is spirit of the players at the club itself and our determination to play together despite forces out of our control. This was demonstrated at last year’s fixture, as the Medics pressed to the Royal Marine’s line right up to final whistle, proving our physical ability and desire for the game. Enjoy the fixture and the atmosphere of the night. With the club’s spirit, I hope that it will continue for many years to come. Ali Ward President PEMRFC

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Hasler Company Hasler Company is part of the Naval Service Recovery Pathway and has been based in HMS Drake since 2009. Since then, 178 personnel from all three services have been assigned. The Company currently stands at 87, all ranks from Marine to Lt Colonel, Able Seaman to Commanders, Privates to Majors and every rank in between. There are 27 from the Royal Navy, 51 Royal Marines, 8 Army and one from the RAF. HMS Drake is the ideal location for the company, with plenty of space for a growing Unit. We have been massively supported by the Naval Base in providing funding for adaptations to offices and some temporary accommodation during a construction phase and areas to conduct rehabilitation and education. This year we moved into a fantastic state of the art new accommodation block called Parker VC, paid for by Help For Heroes who are also building a new rehabilitation complex including swimming pool, hydro therapy pool, gymnasium, social areas and consultation rooms. This will be the Endeavour centre and will probably be one of the best of its kind in the UK. The men and women in Hasler Company all follow their own bespoke programme, whether that is to stay in service or medically discharged. The Company provide intense specialised rehabilitation for those who need it, with daily physiotherapist support and service exercise rehabilitation instructors. Employment in or out of the Service is important to everyone and Hasler Company have a team of 3 Royal Marine Seniors and one civilian who specialise in finding the right job for each individual. This will include

tasters and work placements prior to any courses being booked and so far there has been a massive variety of jobs found from construction, maritime security, environment agency, teacher training, tree surgeons, paramedics, etc etc. Adaptive sport and adventure therapy is very important in recovery and to date, Hasler Company have 10 Royal Marines on the GB Paralympic development programme, all at different stages and sports, from triathlon, cycling, kayaking, shooting, archery, track and field and more. We have three members of the company sailing between Australia and New Zealand with the Jubilee Sailing Trust on one of their tall ships. They will all be back in midNovember. As the Company Sergeant Major, my job is made so easy by working with such motivated, resilient and interesting people from all 3 services and I am constantly amazed by what they all achieve on a daily basis. WO Jim Morris CSM

Brothers Standing on the beach today and gazing at the sea I thought of back when I was young, And how my future used to be Skimming stones that slowly sank, I saw the setting sun I thought about the times gone by, The carelessness, the fun When summers past saw tears and laughs and revelling in joy I saw myself push though the crowds, Back then I was a boy We took the hands of those we loved, and thanked the higher powers With pretty girls in summers sun, We danced away the hours But then came war, we gladly went, towards adventure then I saw us there with little care We faced it all as men We all shook hands and bade farewell and took each separate path And spoke of when we’d meet again Perhaps we shared a laugh And now I stand upon the sand and stare into the past The dying sun a blaze of gold A glory that won’t last The sea roars in, breaks at my feet, I watch the driftwood flow I think of all the good men gone, Where did our brothers go? Another sits along the beach, his gaze cast out to sea He watches distant ships sail by Whilst unaware of me Another brother still alive, yet somehow also lost To contemplate new freedom whilst, He can’t forget the cost

With frayed and tattered ends Combined are strong and take the strain, with strength that you well know We quietly toast the good men gone Where did our brothers go? And often, when I am alone, and drink has had its fill I think and wonder where you’ve gone And if your hearts are still I miss you brothers, that’s for sure, the others miss you too Yet we can’t join you just yet, as We’ve still got work to do I realise we’re still happy here, you all need not despair The music plays, we dance away Our laughter fills the air For one day when the chips run out and when our lives are spent We’ll fold our hands upon the deck And follow where you went But ‘till that hour, we toast your souls and quietly raise a glass As fate dictates we’ll find that door Through which our brothers pass We’ll set our sights, perfect our lives; make all good things our aim As one day we’ll share stories from This world from whence we came The golden setting sun departs and stars soon fill the sky As peaceful calm lifts saddened heart No longer asking why With this in mind I rest content, in that, one day I’ll know

Capt Ed Porter RM Hasler Company

Perhaps a thousand miles out there, they’re calling from the seas And though they’re gone we listen, still And hear them on the breeze Whilst other men find solace in a train of thought unknown I sometimes call on thoughts of them, For answers of my own And although the wind torn faces of the men who still remain, Are lost in thought upon these sands And may contort with pain They still remember how to live and love and dance today They join together, fight on, so As not to fade away Together round the barbeques, we drink and dine with friends Warriors like tightened ropes

Letter from Camp Bastion

It was in 1986 when I first walked through the gates of the Commando Training Centre (CTC), Royal Marines, Lympstone. Of all shapes and sizes, hair length and background, hopefuls would be cajouled and ‘beasted’ (encouraged using physical training as the carrot) until they were awarded their coveted Green Beret. I spent 18 months at CTC and now as a consultant surgeon who has remained in the Royal Navy, it is always good to catch up with some of those whose blisters I dressed, knees I helped patch up or stories I listened to: elective referrals, on my pre-deployment training, on exercise, and unfortunately, most recently, when deployed in Afghanistan and beyond. Pre-deployment training (PDT) for a surgeon is a necessity. It ensures that when an ‘old man’ deploys, he is fit enough for the rigours of what he is about to embark on. Being over 50, I no longer have to do the RN fitness test (a timed 1.5 mile run and load carry) but I still do it. The enemy doesn’t give credit for maturity and the environment is no less rugged or the bullets and bombs slower, ‘just because you’re old’! It also shows a willingness to do the same as everyone else – team bonding, I think it’s

called, but I am usually left ‘hanging out’ (tired beyond belief) after a good ‘beasting’ (training by pushing the body to the limit to improve fitness and skills – see alternative definition above). The military side of PDT is really important. Re-learning (in medical-speak we might call it ‘revising’) how to live in austere conditions and ‘shoot a gun’, is a must. Knowing how to cope if things don’t go according to plan and more importantly, knowing what is expected of you by the soldiers and marines with you in such a case, is more than a little bit useful. The military training includes scenarios where colleagues will be injured, sometimes severely. Having been taught how to ‘fire and manoeuvre’ and sort your ‘admin’ (keeping your kit clean and together) by ‘the lads’, you can calm their fears and teach them how to deal with a severely injured mate, remembering that with all your surgical skills you are only as good as the kit you carry on your person at that time, which on the front line will be a tourniquet, a vial of morphine and the strongest remedy of all ‘banter and idle chit chat’ (professionally probably better known as reassurance).

Letter from Camp Bastion The Frontline Soldier So, having completed the military side of PDT, preparations are made to be able to manage injuries, unlikely to be encountered in your non-deployed role when you may be the only surgeon managing a multiply injured casualty. By good fortune, invention and continuing development, there is the Military Operational Surgical Training (MOST) course held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. We run through multiple scenarios following laid down standard operating procedures (SOPs) so that when the pace steps up, everyone knows what the objectives are and how to get the best out of the team and how to achieve the ultimate goal, the saving of life and limb in a war zone. After the pre-deployment team training, that lasts almost as long as the length of the deployment, it’s the countdown to departure, with all the hassle of the last few days at home and goodbyes that entails. From Brize Norton, with those you have been training with, it is off to a hot and sandy place with no beach and certainly no waves, in the hope that there is nothing to do but combat boredom. If you are not bored it is because someone has come a serious cropper! The trauma bleep goes and all that team training kicks in: a fire fight has resulted in a gun shot wound, an improvised explosive

device (IED) has done its job, a suicide bomber has succeeded, a vehicle has crashed. The lads on the ground stem the bleeding, the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) go to collect him, sometimes under fire, and we are gathered to await whatever is delivered to us as a package. The guy on the guerney (stretcher) is a Royal Marine, injured by an IED … but I do not recognise him! Covered in the sand and dust of the desert and smelling like a bonfire that has had petrol poured on it to increase the already intense heat of the furnace, he is your next piece of work. The ED team start where the lads on the ground and those on the MERT have finished. The IED had severed his left arm and both legs, so we are dealing with what is colloquially and affectionately known as ‘a triple’. Three tounrnaquets were put on by his mates patrolling with him and they have saved his life! He arrives, still conscious and handing out the ‘banter’ (friendly quips that could be taken in a number of ways). Stripped of his clothing by the blast, he is asleep in the ED within 5 minutes of arrival, through the CT scanner to exclude any significant torso trauma and onto the operating table 20 minutes after his arrival.

Letter from Camp Bastion With four pairs of surgeons operating, one pair on each limb (as even the one arm not blown off is injured), and one scrub nurse between us (they work so hard and are so good at their jobs), those in our administration cell have already alerted the UK and the C-CAST (the ITU in the sky) is on its way to collect him. After 90 minutes he is settled down on our ITU and he is back in Birmingham with his family 18 hours after his injury. Great team effort! My tour of duty finishes and I fly home four days after this casualty. I go and see the guys unfortunate enough to have (hopefully) benefitted from my administrations (and those of many others) and efforts in Camp Bastion.

In the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) I join the Tuesday ward round, the morning after I get back. I am an ‘extra’ in a complex group of HCAs, administrators, physiotherapists, pain specialists, tissue viability nurses and the gaggle of surgeons of many specialities. Half way through the ward round we enter a bay like any other, with six lads all at various stages of recovery. ‘All right, Doc?’ First bed on the left is ‘Royal’ with his one arm, ‘the guy on the guerney’, the Royal Marine I

didn’t recognise five days ago. We had done a three month deployment together six years ago when he was with a Commando Unit, embarked on the ship on which I was the surgeon. We had worked and played together before – small world to say the least! So you can know these guys before injury, operate on them and then meet them again afterwards. Their injuries are various, multiple and ‘life changing’. The guy is still the same, he just can’t do what he used to do, for obvious reasons. So as the rehabilitation continues for our injured, we must find new things for them to do and give them opportunities to reset their start button and move on, socially and professionally. For the medics who have deployed? We each need a period of ‘down time’ or readjustment. This differs for individuals but I leave home and come back sometimes forgetting that when I am away my family life carries on, it is just that I am just not a part of it. So the toothpaste tube will have been squeezed from the top and then put on the wrong side of the sink! Work too - but to come back to major reorganisational changes and a different office isn’t helpful. Oh yes, not having a hernia repair done by Thursday because the patient will breach? Give me a break while I readjust to the requirements of the NHS! A Surgeon

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United Kingdom Medical Group THE UK Medical Group provides the full spectrum of medical support to UK and ISAF forces deployed in Helmand Province and wider Afghanistan, from care at the point of injury through hospital treatment to evacuation back to the UK. The UK Medical Group is composed of the Role 1 Medical Regiment and the Role 3 Hospital. The Role 1 Medical Regiment provides the pre-hospital emergency care, in essence the deployed ambulance service, and primary health care. In addition, it also provides mental health, environmental health and dental support and advice to the force. The Role 3 Hospital based in Camp Bastion is responsible for the deployed hospital care of the troops deployed in Afghanistan. The hospital is equipped with the same specialist equipment as found in hospitals all around the UK and its highly skilled and experienced clinical staff provide an exceptional level of care. The UK Medical Group also forms the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) to get any casualties back to the hospital as quickly as possible and the Deployed Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron which ensures that any patients are returned to the UK and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) in Birmingham as quickly as possible. The UK Medical Group is heavily involved in the development of the Afghan National Army medical capability and is training and mentoring at all levels from Warrior Medics to

Surgeons. In addition, the development of the supporting elements of command and control and logistics are being mentored alongside the clinical aspects. The current UK Medical Group deployed on Operation Herrick 19A is based around 2 Medical Regiment who provide the R1 Medical Regiment and 203( V ) Field Hospital who provide the core staff for the R3 Hospital, but it is truly a tri-service organisation. Over 350 UK personnel make up the UK Medical Group from all three services and the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force are represented by both regular and reservist personnel. There are also a number of MOD civilians who deploy to support the UK Med Gp. In addition to being tri-service, the UK Med GP is also a true example of a coalition unit with the UK medical personnel working hand in glove with colleagues from the United States of America. Surg Cdr Chris Streets RN

United Kingdom Medical Group

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Royal Marines Squad L/Cpl (Buckers) Buckley Position: 1 Unit: 42 CDO RM Height: 182cm Weight: 105kg Home: Wirral

Mne (Tractor/Farmer) Thurston Position: 5 Unit: RM Band Plym. Height: Weight: 110kg Home: Portsmouth

Sgt Taff Williams Team Manager Coach

Rank and Name:…Sgt Williams...….…… Unit:…Cdo Log Regt RM……… Known As:……Taff.. …..……………… Prop Position:……Team Manager.………

Mne Phil Wilson

Cpl Dom Maton

Mne Matt Warwick

HomePosition: Town:…………Swansea..……… Position: 4 3 Buckley…..….………… Rank Position: and2 Name:…LCpl Unit: Unit: RM Pool Unit: RM Pool Height:Unit:………42 Height: Height:Cdo 182cm RM………………….. Weight: Weight: 86kg Weight: 17st 3lbs Home: Tavistock Home: Staines Home: Plymouth Known As:. Buckers……………..............……… Position:…1……..…………………………… Cpl Andrew (Thomo)Thomas Mne (Theo) Theophanipes Mne Scott (Scotty) Puleston Height:.…182…………….……………..c Position: 6 Position: 8 Position: 7 Prop Unit: 42 CDO RM Unit: CTCRM Unit: Weight:……105………………….………. Height: 1.86m Height: Height: Weight: Weight: 92kg Weight: 105kg DOB:………08/01/82………..………… Rank and Name:…Mne Lyons…..….………… Home: Home: Plymouth Home: Cardiff Unit:…42 Cdo RM……………… Home Town:……Wirral………..…...……….…

LCPL Guy Glastonbury Position: 9 Unit: CTCRM Height: 174cm Weight: 76kg Home: Abercarn

Mne Nathan (Nath) Huntley Position: 10 Unit: 42 CDO RM Height: Weight: Home: Bristol nd

Mne Seta Raumakita Position: 13 Unit: 42 CDO RM Height: Weight: Home: Figi

Cpl Charles (Baz) Evans Position: 14 Unit: 43 CDO RM Height: Weight: 86kg Home: Cardiff

Mne Luke (Redders) Redman Position: 17 Unit: 43 CDO RM Height: Weight: 92kg Home: Newport

Team Manager

Known As:... Joe………..…….............. Mne Matt (Tish) Tichias Capt (Russ) Sayer Position:…1……..…………………… Position: 12 Position:11 Unit: RM POOLE Unit: HMS Drake Height:.…186…………….………… FOST Height: Weight: 97kg Height: 170cm Weight:……94………………….… Home:Plymouth Weight: 76kg Home: Whitstable DOB:………20/11/87………..… Row st Royal Marines 1 XV v Medical Home Town:……Southend-on-Sea.……

R Mne Will Mclaren Mne (Paddy) O’Gorman Rank and Name:…Capt Addison…..….…… Position: 15 Position: 16 Unit: Cdo Log Unit: CTCRM Unit:…42Hooker Cdo RM…………………….. Regt RM Height: 1.81m Height: 193cm Weight: 98kg Kn Weight: 85kg Home: Known As:... Tim………..……..............……… Home: Canterbury Middlesbrough Rank and Name:……Capt Evans- Jones…… Position:…4……..…………………………… Unit:………Land Warfare Scho SGT Matt Maddocks Josh Terry Height:.…184…………….……………..c Mne Tom (Waterboy) Worboys Known As:…………Teg..…………… Position: 20 Position: 18 Position: 19 Unit: 40 CDO RM Unit: Weight:……92………………….………. Unit: 42 CDO RM Position:………2…………..……… Height: Height: Height: Weight: Weight: Weight: 90 DOB:………02/11/82………..………… Height:.…170…………….………… Home: Home: Home: Cambridge Home Town:……Ambleside……….……….… Weight:……95………………….…

Capt James (Buckers) Buckley Position: 21 Unit: CTCRM nd Height: Weight: Home:

DOB:………01/10/80………..… Home Town:……………Bristol..………… CPL (Smalley) Small Position: 22 Unit: CTCRM Height: Weight: Home:

2 Row

Rank and Name:…Mne Scotthorne…..…… Unit:…42 Cdo RM…………………..K 23 Known As:... Dennis....……..............……… Position:…5…..……………………………

Medics Rugby Challenge

Peninsula Medical School

Royal Marines 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Mne Will Mclaren Cpl Charles (Baz) Evans Mne Sete Raumakita Mne Matt (Tish) Tichias Capt Russ Sayer Mne Nathan Huntley LCPL Guy Glastonbury Lcpl (Buckers) Buckley Mne Phil Wilson Mne Dom Maton Mne Matt Warwick Mne (Tractor) Thurston Cpl Andrew Thomas Mne Scott Puleston Mne Theo Theophanipes

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Mne Paddy O’Gorman Mne Luke Redman Josh Terry Mne Tom Worboys Sgt Matt Maddocks Capt James Buckley Cpl (Smalley) Small

Referee Luke Pearce

FULL BACK WING CENTRE CENTRE WING FLY HALF SCRUM HALF PROP HOOKER PROP LOCK LOCK FLANKER FLANKER No. 8 REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS

Assistant Ref 1 Charlie Osborne

Tom Lewis Jake Andrews Ollie Stanbridge Tom Lloyd-Jones Ryan Phillips Charlie Kopec Morgan O’Flaherty Danny Weston Logan Mccallan Alex Whitcroft Kyle Gallimore Henry Harcourt Adam Palmer Ian Bugg Jack Maynard

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Hugo Beaumont Toby Murray Huw Greenish Andy Gaukroger Alistair Ward Dom Mclennan Brian Rigney

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Assistant Ref 2 Nigel Higginson

Match Medical Staff Dr Penny Atkinson Alison Morton

Ali Ward President

Anthony Lambert Director of Rugby

Danny Weston Position: 1 DOB: Height: Weight: 140kg Home:

Logan McCallan Position: 2 DOB: 24/6/91 Height: 178cm Weight: 82kg Home: Belfast

Alex Whitcroft Position: 3 DOB: Height: Weight: 130kg Home:

Henry Harcourt Position: 5 DOB: 05/05/93 Height: 1.88cm Weight: 95kg Home: Norfolk

Adam Palmer Position: 6 DOB: 9/9/93 Height: 1.80m Weight: 80kg Home: Peterborough

Morgan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Flaherty Position: 9 DOB: 5/5/92 Height: 1.74m Weight: 77kg Home: Maidstone

Charlie Kopec Position: 10 DOB: 17/03/92 Height: 180cm Weight: 85kg Home: London

Ryan Phillips Position: 11 DOB: 3/1/93 Height: 1.82m Weight: 76kg Home: Plymouth

Tom Lloyd-Jones Position: 12 DOB: 2/12/90 Height: 1.78m Weight: 88kg Home: Wells

Ollie Stanbridge Position: 13 DOB: 8/3/90 Height: 186cm Weight: 90kg Home: Bristol

Jake Andrews Position: 14 DOB: 11/10/91 Height: 1.87m Weight: 80kg Home:

Tom Lewis Position: 15 DOB: Height: 1.80m Weight: 80kg Home: Cardiff

Hugo Beaumont Position: 16 DOB: Height: Weight: 70kg Home:

PEMRFC Squad

Toby Murray Position: 17 DOB: 17/7/89 Height: 1.90m Weight: 103kg Home:

Ian Bugg Position: 7 DOB: 11/8/94 Height: 1.82m Weight: 81kg Home: Potters Bar

Huw Greenish Position: 18 DOB: Height: Weight: 93kg Home:

Andy Gaukroger Position: 19 DOB: 27/03/94 Height: 186m Weight: 84kg Home: Truro

Dom Mclennan Position: 21 DOB: 22/7/92 Height: 1.90m Weight: 90kg Home: Exeter

Brian Rigney Position: 22 DOB: Height: Weight: 85kg Home:

Kyle Gallimore Position: 4 DOB: 05/03/90 Height: 1.94m Weight: 100kg Home: Braunton

Jack Maynard Position: 8 DOB: 02/04/91 Height: 190cm Weight: 103kg Home: London

Ali Ward Position: 20 DOB: 15/02/89 Height: 180cm Weight: 75kg Home: Brighton

Kieran Leach 1st Team Manager

Devonport Services Under 16 Squad Liam Opie No 1 Position: Prop Age: 15 Weight: 82kg Height: 5’ 10”

Devon Brown No 2 Position: Hooker Age: 15 Weight: 85kg Height: 5’ 10”

Liam Cook No 5 Position: 2nd row Age: 15 Weight: 80kg Height: 6’

James Morton No 6 Position: Back Row Age: 15 Weight: 68kg Height: 5’ 6”

Keiryn Cooper No 9 Position: Scrum Half Age: 15 Weight: 70kg Height: 5’ 10”

Cheyenne Edwards No 10 Position: Fly Half Age: 15 Weight: 63kg Height: 5’ 8”

Harry Baker No 13 Position: Wing Age: 15 Weight: 57kg Height: 5’ 5”

Harry Green No 14 Position: Wing Age: 15 Weight: 83kg Height: 5’ 4”

Henry Hart No 17 Position: Hooker/ Scrum Half Age: 15 Weight: 85kg Height: 6’

Tom Brooker No 18 Position: Centre Age: 16 Weight: 70kg Height: 6’

Rob Morton No 21 Position: Fly Half Age: 15 Weight: 70kg Height: 6’

Tyrone Heffron No 3 Position: Prop Age: 15 Weight: 92kg Height: 5’ 10”

Charlie Norris No 4 Position: 2nd Row Age: 15 Weight: 65kg Height: 6’ 3”

Toby Moore No 7 Position: 2nd Row Age: 15 Weight: 65kg Height: 5’ 8”

Matt Carwithin No 8 Position: Scrum Half Age: 15 Weight: 75kg Height: 6’

Jon Turner No 11 Position: Full Back Age: 15 Weight: 55kg Height: 5’

Toby Knowles No 12 Position: Centre Age: 15 Weight: 59kg Height: 6’ 2”

Vinny Farrow No 15 Position: Wing Age: 15 Weight: 60kg Height: 6’

Darren Leay No 16 Position: Prop Age: 15 Weight: 70kg Height: 5’

Liam Weir No 19 Position: Wing Age: 15 Weight: 75kg Height: 5’ 9”

Lewis Heasman No 20 Position: Wing Age: 15 Weight: 76kg Height: 5’ 8”

Louis Skelton No 22 Position: Scrum Half Age: 15 Weight: 67kg Height: 6’

The Youth Match

Devonport Services RFC u16’s

Ivybridge RFC u16’s 15 Lloyd Vosper FULL BACK 14 Jamie English WING 13 Kieran Castle CENTRE 12 Jack Sturton CENTRE 11 Sam Russell WING 10 Henry Parker FLY HALF 9 Jon James Christopher SCRUM HALF 1 Greg Thomas PROP 2 Mitch Pinkus HOOKER 3 Lewis Barnaby PROP 4 Terrence Masuka LOCK 5 Harry Lee LOCK 6 Tyler Davis FLANKER 7 Josh Chalmers FLANKER 8 Jordan Smith Cronin No. 8 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Max Coles Connor Archer Jordan Therisa Toby Studds Ben Collins Tom Raymond Jones Joel Fellows

Referee Charlie Osborne

REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS REPLACEMENTS

Assistant Ref 1 Steve Woolley

Vinny Farrow Harry Green Harry Baker Toby Knowles Jon Turner Cheyenne Edwards Keiryn Cooper Liam Opie Devon Brown Tyrone Heffron Charlie Norris Liam Cook James Morton Toby Moore Matt Carwithen

15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Darren Leay Henry Hart Tom Brooker Liam Weir Lewis Heasman Rob Morton Louis Skelton

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Assistant Ref 2 Neil Garrett

Match Medical Staff Dr Penny Atkinson Alison Morton

Ivybridge Under 16 Squad Coach / Manager

Coach

Lloyd Vosper Position: 1 Prop Age 15 Height:177 cm Weight: 96 kg

Jamie English Position: 2 Hooker Age 15 Height: 177 cm Weight: 76 kg

Kieran Castle Position: 3 Prop Age 15 Height: 187 cm Weight: 82 kg

Jack Sturton Position: 4 Lock Age 15 Height: 198 Weight: 102 kg

Sam Russell Position: 5 Lock Age 15 Height: 198 Weight: 89 kg

Henry Parker Position: 6 Flanker Age 15 Height: 180 cm Weight: 68 kg

Jon James Christopher Position: 7 Flanker Age 15 Height: 181 Weight: 74 kg

Greg Thomas Position: 8 No 8 Age 15 Height: 183 cm Weight: 101 kg

Mitch Pinkus Position: 9 Age 15 Height: 180 cm Weight: 65 kg

Lewis Barnaby Position: 10 Age 16 Height: 185 cm Weight: 78 kg

Terrence Masuka Position: 11 Wing Age 15 Height: 165 cm Weight: 62 kg

Harry Lee Position: 12 Centre Age 15 Height: 178 cm Weight: 78 kg

Tyler Davis Position: 13 Centre Age 15 Height: 184 cm Weight: 86 kg

Josh Chalmers Position: 14 Wing Age 15 Height: 165 cm Weight: 70 kg

Jordan Smith Cronin Position: 15 Full Back Age 15 Height: 188 cm Weight: 73 kg

Max Coles Position: 16 Wing Age 15 Height: 175 cm Weight: 68 kg

Connor Archer Position: 17 Prop Age 15 Height: 180 cm Weight: 85 kg

Jordan Therisa Position: 18 Prop Age 15 Height: 180 cm Weight: 94 kg

Tom Raymond Jones Position: 21 Lock/Flanker Age 15 Height: 185 cm Weight: 78 kg

Toby Studds Position: 19 Hooker/Scrum Half Age 15 Height: 164 cm Weight: 64 kg

Joel Fellows Position: 22 Wing Age 15 Height: 171 cm Weight: 57 kg

Ben Collins Position: 20 Prop/Hooker Age 15 Height: 178 cm Weight: 78 kg

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The Long Road to Recovery Whilst deployed on Operation Herrick 9 with 45 Commando RM, I was leading my section as we patrolled to the west of our company location, FOB (Forward Operating Base) Robinson, Sangin Valley, Afghanistan. I was involved that day in what became a lifealtering experience as I stepped on an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). That day was 5th November 2008. I did not hear a click or the bang but I knew I had been blown up. I do remember hitting the ground and the pain strangely not yet registering. There was a quiet and still feeling with echoed pinging sounds, followed by a pulsing throbbing sensation. Then the world seemed to speed up as if it had just stood still. The lads were then shouting at me to breathe and talk and then I felt a member of the Troop tightening the tourniquet. I remember a thump to my thigh as the auto injector pen was administered to my upper leg. I was then rolled, lifted and carried by the lads, running in thirty five degree heat, to the ERV (Emergency Rendezvous) nearly 2km away in full kit after a long patrol. The lads, well drilled and rehearsed for such an incident were going hell for leather to get me to the inbound Vector casevac vehicle, whilst still professionally patrolling. Twenty-five minutes from point of injury and I am in the vehicle heading for the FOB’s helicopter landing zone. There I was given another dose of pain relief via auto injector, at this point I recollect hearing the incoming helicopter Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), over the top of the words of encouragement from one of the medics.

Once I was placed on the Chinook, the medical team asked me a few questions. Due to the injuries to my face I could not see them but heard and answered as best I could before being given stronger pain relief and then I drifted off to sleep. Although I was in and out of consciousness, I do not remember where I was for the coming days. I can only remember awakening in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) Selley Oak Hospital, Birmingham after nearly two weeks. Mumbling to my wife and after initially thinking I was still in Afghanistan and sometimes in combat situations, the reality started to sink in of what had happened. The boys on the ground and the medical team at Camp Bastion had done a fantastic job putting me back together, but still my heart sank as the doctor informed me of my injuries. I had lost my left leg below knee, three digits to my right hand, my left eye, and sustained severe facial disfigurement, nearly lost my arm to a piece of shrapnel that had torn an artery during the blast and significant scarring due to the blast debris. That was five years ago today and I’m honoured to say I’m still a serving Royal Marine and a proud member of Hasler Company. Earlier this year I finished my facial reconstructive surgery. This was the penultimate stage of being put back together as best the medical profession can. Since the start of surgery in December 2012 I have had eleven operations in total to rebuild my nose and facial profile. The shortest of these operations was three and a half hours long with the longest being ten and a half hours. I will still need a few ‘tweaks’ in the

The Long Road to Recovery ensuing months and some tinkering with my prosthetic leg, but I will soon be ready to leave the employment of the Royal Navy next year. I believe I will be able to do this confidently and, suitably prepared for more of life’s little challenges. This is due to the hard work of Hasler Company based at HMS Drake. With your kind donations and events like the Medics Rugby Challenge, which raises funds for the RMCTF, injured Royal Marines are able to remain within the Corps family, able to get to a good level of fitness and be entered into suitable training programmes to enable us to transition into the civilian world as fluidly as possible and carry on with our lives. This is done by not just fixing the man injured and addressing his needs but also by helping his family, who themselves have had to travel the recovery pathway with him. As daunting as ‘Civvi Street’ is, no truer saying can be said than ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine’ as, in my opinion, we are only as strong as our family around us and our family is the Corps!

Cpl Jay Hare Hasler Company

From Marine to Civvy

Since being medically discharged from the Marines in May 2012 I find now, as a civilian, that I spend time looking forward to celebrating and remembering milestones and anniversaries. I can still remember the date I joined the Marines and the date I passed out and I still talk about them to anyone who will listen! I find myself reminiscing about the date I flew out to Iraq and also the date I flew out to Afghanistan. Even occasions such as birthdays and Christmas seem to have a different feel now as I think back to the birthdays and Christmases I enjoyed in the Corps. None more so than Christmas 2008 which I spent in Afghanistan with the lads of 45 Commando. We celebrated it by hosting

a ‘FOB Inkerman strong man competition’, which I clearly didn’t win, not to mention the Sgt Major riding around on a quad bike giving out presents. February 3rd is also a date when I make sure I go out and celebrate as this is my ‘alive day’, the day I was blown up by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). Thanks to the lads on the ground and the surgeons in Camp Bastion, I am able to celebrate this as the day I survived a bomb blast. Another significant date for me is November 25th, as this was the date in 2010 when my life got kick started again. This is the date that I had my leg amputated. Since that day I haven’t looked back.

From Marine to Civvy

Being in the Marines, albeit for a short time, has given me so many amazing memories and one of the biggest things for me since entering the civilian world has been to treasure them. Treasure the memories but also keep the ties with the friends that gave you those memories. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why Cornish Wave, the week surfing in Polzeath with the guys, and the Medics Rugby Challenge are so important for those who maybe arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so much a part of the day-to-day running of the Corps anymore.

To have these anniversaries and dates in the calendar are really important and have certainly kept a smile on my face over the last five years. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great that the Medics Rugby Challenges has raised a huge amount of money for charity but the best bit about it for me has been the 5 years of memories. Here is to the next five! Andy Grant Former Royal Marine

The Way We Were The rugby balls in my day, lad, were made of bloody leather. Bladder stitched, with laces in, to hold the bastard together. The ones today have adverts on, in supersonic plastic; They’ll reach the sticks from miles away, toe-poked by any person. The boots we wore were leather, too - wi’ toecaps like a brick. We dubbin’d ‘em to last for years, the leather was that thick. But now they buy ‘em twice a year, at sixty quid a throw, like ballet-shoes, all soft and pink, wi’ bugger-all on the toe. We used to tie our laces too and our socks were made of wool. Hung around your ankles, they’d hold a gallon each, half-full. So we tied ‘em up, or taped ‘em up. Either way, no fuss. Bryan Habana in woolly socks? He couldn’t catch a bus. We didn’t have post-protectors, like cushions in a pram. A marketing opportunity, an advertising scam. And kicking tees. Kicking tees! With some of them so high That any twit could HEAD the pill between the posts, without a word of a lie. And if the Ref should send you off, he didn’t need a card. We didn’t remonstrate at all - we’d just make him drink a yard. But now you get your yellow card - Ooh! Naughty boy! Smacked wrist! Ten minutes off within the game? I’d come back on half-pissed! And nowadays, if you should burst a pimple on your head You can have a blood-replacement and your mate comes on instead! And half-a-Guinness later, or a few more, if your shout – Your mate comes off; you go on; what the ****s that all about? Gum-shields. Body armour. Like that American Football farce. And passive scrums. Passive scrums? You can shove ‘em up your ‘rectum’. What we want is what we played - that’s eighty-minutes’ worth Of Rugby Union - the greatest game on Earth. At that, my son, I’ll take ‘Time out’ another innovation! And summon up my aches and pains to find some inspiration. We weren’t allowed a substitute: we turned out fifteen men! A f****d-up shoulder: a broken nose: blood everywhere, we went back on again! And everytime the cold wind blows, and crippled with arthritis, We curse the wounds of long ago that come back now to bite us. We made a try: we saved a try: we played on, through the pain And crippled, cursing, bleeding - we loved the greatest game!

YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE MIGHT BE IMAGINING THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HELP (believe us you can)

Together our challenge is to raise £6,000,000 by the 350th anniversary of the Royal Marines in 2014. It goes without saying that we seek to support our wounded and injured in any way we can. But we also seek to improve the quality of life of those who are facing multiple tours in high threat environments and are so very often forgotten. And we continue this support long after our people have severed their formal links to the Corps. Sadly, we also provide a death grant to the next of kin of any member of the Corps who has died in service.

To find out how you can support us visit www.rmctf.org.uk or to make a donation now, text ‘MARINES’ to 70300 to donate £5* *This service will make a one-off £5 donation to the Royal Marines Association minus your mobile operator charges. The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund is an Incorporated Registered Charity No. 1134205, Registered office: RM Corps Secretariat, Building 32, HMS EXCELLENT, Whale Island, Portsmouth PO2 8ER

www.rmctf.org.uk

Help for Heroes Summer Ball After months of talk and build up, it was time for the biggest RV (rendezvous) of 45 Commando ranks since Herrick 9. The Help for Heroes Summer Ball was held in the Hilton Hotel, Liverpool on 29th June 2013. It was organised by Andy Grant (Former Royal Marine). Those of you who are regulars at the Medics Rugby Challenge will be familiar with his articles that feature in the programme but it is now time for his recognition. I am proud to call Andy one of my best mates (Civvi & Marine). I’ve known him for over six years and we deployed together on Herrick 9 with Y-Coy 45 Cdo. I was on the ground the day he got blown up and have watched him on his road to recovery since then. From the injuries he sustained and the condition he was in, to the fighting fit individual he is now, it is amazing.

as these really inspire them and also myself. His ‘No Limits’ approach to his injury is just so infectious and inspirational. Everyone he speaks to really absorbs his energy.

Myself as a Royal Marines PTI (physical training instructor) based at the Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, to see Andy’s motivation and attitude is incredible. I use many of Andy’s achievements, such as running two half Marathons (with only one leg), abseiling The Shard, cycling from Birmingham to London and Surfing in California as motivation for the recruits I teach. Stories such

Andy has been helped in many ways and occasions by Help for Heroes and he decided over a year and a half ago that he wanted to do something massive to repay them. After being invited to many charity events and balls himself he decided that he would organise his own, in his home city of Liverpool. Taking ideas from each one, he wanted to make his a real night to remember.

Help for Heroes Summer Ball When all the lads heard this, they were immediately interested. For anyone in the forces, you will know that you make some very close friends over the years and the experiences you share are second to none, bonds that civvies will just never have. After Herrick 9 most of us got drafted to different bases or courses and had never been together since but on that night we regrouped and reassembled. Lovets prepped, or in some cases cuffed last minute, it was ‘party time’. The venue and event itself was very professionally organised. The prizes for the raffle and auction were impressive; diamond rings, laptops, holidays, a signed Liverpool top, spa weekends, VIP Kings of Leon tickets, i-Pods, video camera, signed Man Utd top, a signed Liverpool football just to name a few. And, of course, after spending a fortune on tickets, what did I win? Two Egyptian pillows and six tickets to Manchester greyhound racing. Cheers! It just goes to show there are some really generous and kind-hearted people and companies out there that were willing to give those brilliant prizes for free. Dinner was just a hurdle in the way of the drinking and catching up that had to be done but this never got in the way of the magician. That still to this day has left me gobsmacked! After many speeches and presentations Andy thought it would be funny to get fellow PTI, Cpl Lee ‘Doddy’ Dodd, and I up on stage for a bit of entertainment. In true PTI fashion we never disappointed.

The night was also used as a leaving do for two of the Yankee Warriors – Cpl Andy ‘Gibbo’ Gibson and Mne Iain ‘Symey’ Syme. We could not have asked for a better turnout and event for their leaving do. Better than a few wets in the Condor Club and run shore in Arbers (Arbroath, the home of 45 Cdo). The fact we got to don lovets, have our beautiful girlfriends on our arms, drink, spin dits, drink, spin dits, dance, raise money for charity, spin more dits, party, drink and dance was just brilliant! We couldn’t have asked for more. These reunions and events rarely happen, so everyone really appreciated the whole night and turnout. Andy was not able to take all the credit for this fantastic night. His fiancé, Leonie, put a great deal of time and effort into this as well, along with a few close friends who help set up the event on the day. The entire event raised over £14,000, an amazing achievement from very generous guests. Andy has already thought about making this an annual event. Big smiles from every Bootneck, Matelot and Pongo involved. Hopefully next year, all those that failed to make it due to work commitments (or just some gash excuses) will attend and make it bigger and better. Not really sure if that’s possible, as it was such a success but we will give it a go.

Cpl Ryan Gorman PTI

Holidays for Heroes Recognising that many Hasler Company personnel need a break from formal rehabilitation courses, an adventure/therapy training trip was arranged for the second year in succession to Jersey. Nobody was waylaid by thoughts of a lazy week’s holiday, suntanning on the beach. WO Tony Veale issued verbal and written orders and our mission was: ‘to conduct an adventure training, rehabilitation and therapy week’. As you read on, you will see we achieved all of that and more. Having 30 or so of us deploying by ferry or airline to St Helier, with all the luggage, kayaks, bikes, windsurfers, paddle boards and sherbet dips, was certainly a challenge. WO Tony Jacka was senior rank on tour and to his relief all the troops and equipment arrived without incident. The Company formed up over the weekend of 20/21 July and returned on the 26 July. There was no formal adventure training over the weekend but there were opportunities to meet the Governor of Jersey, General John McCall, members of the Holidays for Heroes and the Jersey RMA. The weekend’s highlight was the Rugby 7s competition, held in St Brelade’s Bay, which was a fundraiser for Holidays for Heroes Jersey and hugely supported. It seemed as if the whole island had come out to greet us and were extremely liberal with their offers of free wets (beers/drinks) - it would have been rude to refuse such hospitality! Many people donated to help fund our holiday and the excellent Merton Hotel looked after us so well, catering for all our needs. All this was, to say the least, very humbling. Because Jersey is away from the mainland, visiting militar y might have imagined deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan could

easily pass by the good folk of Jersey. Their passion to help with the rehabilitation of not just Hasler Company but other Army rehabilitation groups from the mainland swept away any doubts that we may have harboured, that our efforts were somehow forgotten. Admiration was even greater when it was explained that Holidays for Heroes was also available to returning military personnel and their families, which had many of us planning ahead for next year. All those hospital appointments and hard work in the pool and gym were now swept away and ‘playing hard’ became the order of the day. Each morning started with briefings and activity selection. It takes time to be partnered with the correct adaptive equipment and safety instructor but this new policy allows the most profoundly injured person to enjoy the freedom and independence of a sport or activity that they may have thought impossible to attempt. The personal challenge may be physical, psychological or both but taking on a challenge such as snorkelling, kayaking, paddle boarding, sailing, surfing or cycling and mastering that challenge you thought was way outside your ability, brings the greatest confidence boost and aid to fitness and rehabilitation imaginable. As the recruiting advert says ‘It’s a State of Mind’, and we’ve still got it, except this time the challenge is different. On a personal note, as a veteran of the many arduous kayak expeditions, to complete a short open water paddle, after a long debilitating illness, in an open kayak was my Olympic gold medal. I know my colleagues will have achieved their own goals. My short kayak gave me the confidence to get out on

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Holidays for Heroes

the water, for which I’m very grateful, as this was the first step I needed on that journey to regaining my fitness. Not only did we get to enjoy our time on all the best beaches in Jersey, our Mission was successful on every level. We did ‘work hard and play hard’ but it made the pub lunches taste all the better as stories of trials and tribulation were swapped and inevitably embellished. And guess what? In between the loud banter, further challenges and goals were set and bets made to climb, swim, cycle, run higher, longer and further into the next year and beyond. CSgt Baz Barrett will be advertising for support for his yomp to the top of Ben Nevis next year which is a personal challenge that means a lot to him. As everything was so fast paced, the therapy afternoon was a most welcome break, even if the circumstances were a little surprising. On arriving at several large Mongolian yurts,

somewhere on the island, we were greeted by a group of wonderful ladies, all skilled in the art of healing massage and relaxation. What could be more perfect than lots of hot tea and home-made cake, before a healing session of reiki, body massage or Indian head massage? Well, you could not have got a more sceptical bunch of blokes, but we were all won over and won’t need to be asked twice in future. Last but not least, during the week there was a great day out with a local fisherman organised by now retired and Jersey based, Lt Col Tim Daniels RM. Our fisherman became known as ‘Dave the Dit’, and when you know who else was in the boat that’s some title! The haul of fish was impressive, as we’re Dave’s cooking skills, and it was a fantastic way to end with our farewell BBQ. Lt Col Richards RM Hasler Company

Medics Rugby Challenge Sweetheart

I am honoured to be asked again to support the Medics Rugby Challenge, which I do whole-heartedly, and be granted the opportunity to show my support for The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund that works so hard to improve the lives of those who have been wounded whilst gallantly serving our country. I was born in Plymouth and raised as part of a military family, three generations of which have seen active service, so I am fully aware of the bravery and sacrifices made by all those in our armed forces. Although we all hope for the safe return of our loved ones, it is sadly inevitable that there are some who will suffer wounds, both physical and mental. Raising funds to help with the care and rehabilitation of our injured is simply wonderful and I would suggest that supporting this charity is the perfect way to show our respect and gratitude to these men and women who truly are heroes. Emma Pierson

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