RAF veteran beaten up by thug after others had chance to save him

RAF veteran beaten up by thug who broke into his home was murdered by the same man hours later after police assumed they were friends and left them alone together
Daily Mail
Amie Gordon
April 15, 2016

Christopher Fields, 37, was beaten to death by Joe Hasledine, 24,
Police officers were called to reports of a violent burglary at his home
They found the victim with blood on his face but left him with the murderer
Thug wrongly held Mr Fields responsible for his dog being put down
Hasledine jailed for life with minimum recommendation to serve 16 years
Mr Fields had been awarded medals following tours in Iraq and Afghanistan

Christopher Fields (pictured) was falsely accused of having Joe Hasledine's dog put to sleep after it mauled another dog outside his apartment

An RAF veteran who was attacked in his own home by an intruder was murdered by the same man just two hours later - after police left them alone together.

Officers had found Christopher Fields, 37, with blood on his face when they were called to reports of a violent burglary at his home.

While two constables quizzed Mr Fields about the break-in, culprit Joe Hasledine, 24, returned to the scene.

However officers left the two men together in the mistaken belief the pair were friends - leaving Hasledine, who had been on a cocaine-fuelled drink and drugs binge, to beat Mr Fields to death.
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Glasgow helicopter crash: RAF veteran died trying to prevent a greater disaster

Glasgow helicopter crash: RAF veteran died trying to prevent a greater disaster
HERO pilot Captain Dave Traill has been praised for trying to bring the stricken helicopter down in a “controlled” crash.
Express UK
Tom Martin
December 2, 2013

The former RAF flight lieutenant died trying to prevent an greater disaster, aviation experts believe.

The rotor blades were not turning – suggesting a catastrophic engine failure – and Cpt Traill seemed to be attempting an emergency landing on the flat roof of Clutha Vaults pub.

Struan Johnston, director of Caledonian Aviation, said: “The pilot would have done everything to try to land the aircraft safely. He nearly pulled it off.”

Cpt Traill, who worked for Bond Air Services, was a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and had served in both Gulf Wars. He lived in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, with his girlfriend Lucy. His cousin, Toni Lawson, said: “It’s very upsetting, but if his actions saved the lives of others we are very proud of him.”

Police Scotland confirmed the identities of the officers who died as PC Kirsty Nelis and PC Tony Collins, of the Operational Support Division.
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Flight Lieutenant Tim Pollard received the Distinguished Flying Cross

Brave Chinook pilot who saved five after Taliban attack awarded highest military flying honour
By IAN DRURY
Last updated at 6:21 PM on 25th November 2010

A Royal Air Force pilot has received the highest military flying honour for picking up five seriously-wounded soldiers despite his helicopter being badly-damaged in a Taliban attack.

Flight Lieutenant Tim Pollard received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroics on the battlefield in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

His twin-rotor Chinook was hit by an insurgent's bullet which damaged the rotor brake cylinder, spraying him with highly flammable hydraulic fluid.





Ignoring the risk of the cockpit bursting into flames, he courageously landed the helicopter to pick up the severely-injured troops.

His selfless bravery and coolness under pressure during the incident earned him the gallantry award.


He was given the prestigious medal in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace today.

Ft Lt Pollard was part of the British Armed Forces' Immediate Response Team, which is deployed to evacuate and treat the most serious battlefield casualties in a specially-kitted out Chinook helicopter.

Effectively an operating theatre with rotor blades, it carries a four-man medical unit to deal with Category A casualties - those who cannot walk and are at immediate risk of dying.

On December 15 last year, Ft Lt Pollard was scrambled to pick up five grievously-wounded soldiers when a Taliban suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated himself at the vehicle checkpoint in Sangin, Helmand Province.

Two British servicemen - Lance Corporal David Kirkness, 24, and Rifleman James Brown, 18 - and two Afghan soldiers later died from the injuries inflicted when they tried to stop the insurgent blowing up a market packed with civilians.


Read more: Flight Lieutenant Tim Pollard received the Distinguished Flying Cross

UK Gulf War Vet:Learning to cope with trauma

Learning to cope with trauma
8:50pm Friday 1st August 2008

GULF War syndrome (GWS) sufferer Dick Hilling has organised a post-traumatic stress (PTS) conference to help victims of the invisible injury.

Dick, 59, of The Prinnels, West Swindon, says he helped arrange an event at the Marriott Hotel yesterday to help sufferers find relief from a condition he says is similar to GWS.

The 59-year-old worked in the Royal Air Force as a mental health nurse for 28 years.

He says during his six months serving in the first Gulf conflict from October 1990 to March 1991 he was forced to take nerve agent pre-treatment tablets called Pyrostigmine and believes this has led him to his current condition.

He said: “When I began taking these pills I could not sleep – my patterns went all out of whack. I then developed a lot of digestive problems.

“After about five years of being back I began to forget things and ended up having to give up my career and driving licence because I could no longer focus.

“I didn’t know what was happening. I still have a poor memory and this affects me daily.

“I just hope this conference can help others from suffering from what one doctor close to me calls the invisible injury.”

Dick believes people need events like the conference to spend time with like-minded people and to educate themselves on the causes and effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He says it was only after retiring from nursing, and retraining in stress management, that he got his life back on track.

Now he is volunteering at Learning For Life, a mental health charity, and wants to help more people, partly because he likens PTSD to Gulf War syndrome.