Edition 95
As a valued supporter, we are pleased to bring you up-to-speed with a weekly round-up of activities from RMA – The Royal Marines Charity and the wider Corps Family.
This week, as we edge ever closer to our centenary edition, we hope you will find a couple of minutes to give us some feedback; there’s news of a special Reflection Bench; D-Day and B-Day ideas – and how to beat a retreat!
Thank you as always for your valued support.
Making time for reflection
Danny Egan, Director of Health & Wellbeing with RMA – The Royal Marines Charity recently joined Rear Admiral Jude Terry OBE, Director of Personnel and Training RN and other military and civilian personnel at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Lympstone for the unveiling of a Reflection Bench in honour of Captain James Simpson (known as Jim).
Jim was a Royal Navy submariner who had an impressive career, attaining the rank of Captain in just over 18 years. He spent a significant amount of time at HMNB Clyde in Scotland and was hugely respected by those who had the honour of working with him. Sadly, in 2020, he took his own life.
The bench is one of many being donated by HELP Jim’s Story. This is a fund set up by Jim’s family and friends under the Royal Navy and Marines Charity to raise awareness and understanding around mental health – to prevent another person suffering as Jim did, and another family having to deal with such devastation to their lives. In honouring this link and amongst the guests was former RM Officer, Stephen Hart who was a close friend of Capt Jim and a Simpson family friend; and PO Ian Allen, a member of Dreadnought Ships Company that is affiliated to HELP Jim’s Story.
Rear Admiral Terry said: “This Reflection Bench is not intended to be a memorial to Capt Jim but rather provide an enduring physical and visible reminder of the life-saving importance of self-care, physical wellbeing and to ‘end the silence: start the conversation.
Each one reinforces a determination and collaboration across our Armed Forces community in highlighting the importance of promoting tools that can be used to maintain positive wellbeing, to give people the confidence to have difficult discussions and understand individual challenges in their teams, and with their friends and family.”
Danny commented: “This fantastic initiative resonates so well with our own ‘Lifting the Lid’ mental health awareness project – that it takes a stronger person to know when they require support and to ask for it when needed. Do not suffer in silence, ‘lift the lid’… speak to someone and utilise the support available.”
Mr Hart added: “Jim cared passionately about the welfare and mental wellbeing of his team. By understanding your own mental health, you are more capable of recognising signs in others and have the confidence to act when needed. Having strong bonds with others provides an opportunity to share our feelings and know that we are understood.”
Photos: Rear Admiral Judith Terry OBE with Stephen Hart: Group left to right: Padre Paul Andrew, Danny Egan, Ian Allen, Stephen Hart and Padre Phil Carroll
Woodland Warriors
Our Head of Employment & Education, Zoe Darnbrough (pictured left) is ‘enormously grateful’ for the brilliant insight she received having spent a day in the wilds of Somerset with Surgeon Captain Jo Keogh OBE (right) – a Board Member and Trustee of The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity – checking out Hidden Valley Bushcraft’s Woodland Warrior programme.
Former Royal Marine and joint founder, Nick Goldsmith and his team of volunteers (right), gave them an ‘up-close’ and personal look at the inspirational work they do. This included a tour of the local farm before spending the afternoon planting trees and learning more about Nick’s work.
Nick was medically discharged after 11 years’ service, following a diagnosis of PTSD. It was a patch of overgrown and neglected woodland in the Chew Valley between Bath and Bristol that he and his wife then bought, and which really made a difference to his mental health and assisted with his recovery.
The struggle that Nick faced after leaving the Armed Forces prompted him to employ the same skills and activities within the woodland environment that helped him, to now aid the recovery of other veterans, service and Emergency Services’ personnel.
Birthday paddle
Former Royal Marine Stephen Lamb from Leicestershire always does ‘something different’ to celebrate his birthday – and this year is no exception.
On Sunday (14th April), he will set off from Foxton Locks on a six-day, 120-mile paddle down the Grand Union Canal, portaging the 166 locks between Leicester and London, and sleeping alongside the tow path.
Having ‘given his new canoe a good try-out’ and become expert at ‘learning j-strokes on the hoof’, Steve expects to arrive at the Tower of London in time for his 52nd birthday.
He says: “I often do marathons, but decided to do something a bit different this year, something that’s a bit kinder on the knees! But it will still be tough. Portaging all those locks won’t be easy – the two, one-mile tunnels will be challenging and I’ll be enduring hardships in being completely self-sufficient along the way – but it’s all part of the Marines’ ethos!
As a former Royal Marines Commando, it is important to me to give back to the Corps and its wider family. As a young Marine, it gave me so many life skills and values – I’m still grateful for those skills and implement its values on a daily basis.”
We are supremely grateful to Steve whose 2024 birthday challenge has so far raised over £4,000 (including Gift Aid) for RMA – The Royal Marines Charity.
Let us know what you think!
Back in the Spring of 2022, we launched this Weekly Update newsletter to keep our Supporters which means the 100th edition will be winging its way to your mailbox in just five weeks’ time!
We thought this would be the perfect time to check that you are still finding the content interesting and informative – and to ask if there is anything you would like us to improve.
Your feedback via the following questionnaire will be very much appreciated. We will use it to help guide any changes so that our weekly news update can be the very best it can be in keeping you well informed about how RMA – The Royal Marines Charity goes about offering lifelong support to the Corps Family.
The survey will only take a couple of minutes to complete – thank you for your time.
Cracking job
Royal Navy News has reported that Royal Marines aboard HMS Trent, together with British sailors and a US Coast Guard team, have seized 200kg of cocaine and other drugs with a street value of £16.7-million in two separate blows to drug runners in the Caribbean.
In the first operation, RMs of 47 Commando piloted the warship’s fast sea boats to intercept the smugglers’ speedboat immediately following a port visit to the island of Martinique, seizing the drugs and detaining the crew before darkness fell. Read the full story here.
Photos: Royal Navy
Shopping Corner
The D-Day landings of 6th June 1944 was the largest seaborne invasion in history and this year there are numerous events and fundraising challenges to commemorate the 80th anniversary of what is otherwise known as Operation Overlord.
A great way to be part of it all, no matter where you are, is by wearing one of these specially designed sublimated polo shirts – available for pre-order only before midnight on 3rd May 2024, with orders shipped during the last week of May.
A great selection of other quality products is also available exclusively from the Royal Marines Shop that is wholly owned by RMA – The Royal Marines Charity. All profits come back to the Charity to help support the Corps Family.
Beating Retreat
As word spreads amongst those planning to visit London on 11th and 12th July that The Massed Bands of HM Royal Marines Beating Retreat will be back again for the first time in two years on Horse Guards Parade, tickets will sell out fast – so don’t miss out.
They promise to be magnificent evenings of pomp and pageantry featuring outstanding military music, the precision drill of the 40-strong Corps of Drums and a 100-strong Royal Marines Guard of Honour. Profits from the event are donated to Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charities.