UK veteran trying to make a difference for 10 young children who have to live the rest of their lives without their dads.

The former soldier who lost three of his best friends within months

Wales Online
By Katie Bellis Video Journalist
21 JAN 2020

Sean, who is from Wrexham, is speaking out about the impact working in the Army has had on him and why he is trying to make a difference to 10 young children who have to live the rest of their lives without their dads.

Sean Gregory and friend Lyndon Barton are raising money to make a difference to the lives of the children who've lost their fathers (Image: Sean Gregory)

A former soldier has described the heartache of losing four of his best friends, who were all servicemen, to suicide and tragic accidents - three of them in under a year.

Sean Gregory served in the British Army between 2003 and 2013.

Over the years he says he's known 20 soldiers, 19 of those men were from across Wales, who have died in tragic accidents or sadly taken their own lives after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

And four of those men he describes as "brothers" to him. All of them leave behind young children.

The aim of this is to help pay for a holiday for the children of his friends who have passed away or "whatever they may need to bring a smile to their faces".
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Judge told veteran PTSD nothing to be ashamed of

Former soldier who assaulted partner told his PTSD is nothing to be ashamed of by judge
Wales Online
By Jason Evans Court And Crime Reporter
18:07, 24 APR 2018

Judge Walters said: “Today is the day we are going to get a grip on this. You are not a bad person at heart, you are suffering from an illness and that should carry no shame - there is no shame in it.”

Richard Evans served with the Army in Afghanistan - and is "haunted" by some of the things he saw. A former soldier suffering with severe post-traumatic stress disorder who assaulted his partner has been told there is “nothing to be ashamed of” in the illness he is suffering.

Richard John Evans broke down in tears in the dock when told by a judge it was okay to talk about his mental health issues.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the 26-year-old had completed tours of duty in Afghanistan during which he saw children killed - an experience that “haunted him”.

The judge said he was surprised the after-care given to soldiers leaving the Army was so short.

Torn Scapens, prosecuting, said that in December last year an argument broke out between Evans and his partner at their home in Aberavon over the food she had cooked him.

Though the woman described their long-term relationship as “good”, Evans suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and in recent times had started lifting weights and taking steroids.
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UK: Homeless PTSD veteran searching for veteran angels who took care of him

Homeless Army veteran tries to track down Good Samaritans 'John' and 'Patrick' who paid for him to stay in a hotel and gave him 'military-grade' clothing after seeing him in a doorway
Daily Mail
Rory Tingle
February 28, 2018

Ed was approached by the two men when he was on the streets in Bridgend
The pair took him for a meal in Wetherspoons and then paid for a hotel room
When he returned to his spot next day he found a bag of cold-weather gear
Do you know the good Samaritans? Contact rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk

A homeless Army veteran with PTSD is trying to track down two Good Samaritans who paid for him to stay in a hotel and gave him 'military-grade' warm clothing after seeing him in a doorway.

Ex-serviceman Ed - who was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Sierra Leone - thought he was being moved on by security when he was approached in Bridgend, south Wales, last week.

Instead the two men, who are also thought to be ex forces, took the 48-year-old for a meal at Wetherspoons and then to a hotel where he stayed for two nights.
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In Depth of Despair Veteran "Drove to Top of Mountain" and Died

Soldier and father Dylan Jones took his own life after suffering with PTSD
Wales Online
BY PHILIP DEWEY
20 MAY 2017

'More should have been done' for Dylan Jones, 37, who was traumatised by his time in the Armed Forces

Dylan served tours of Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan with the armed forces

Dylan Jones served in the Armed Forces for 18 years and served tours in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq, as a member of the Welsh Guards, 14 Signal Regiment and Royal Welch Fusiliers.

But an impressive career in the forces took an emotional toll.

One friend died in his arms after being shot. A number of others were killed by an explosive device.

Sick of suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), on July 4, 2015, the 37-year-old, of Llansawel, Carmarthenshire, drove to the top of a mountain and took his own life - leaving twin children behind.
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Afghanistan Veteran Takes On Challenge With Tenacity and Titanium

Soldier who lost both legs and his eyesight in while serving Afghanistan takes on huge challenge for charity
Wales Online
BY ABBIE WIGHTWICK
21 APR 2016

In 2014 the former Ysgol Clywedog pupil flew to Australia for pioneering surgery. In an operation called osseointegration, titanium rods were implanted into his stumps.

A soldier who was blinded and lost both legs and his reproductive organs when he was blown up in Afghanistan is asking people to join him on a fundraising walk in Wales.

Fusilier Shaun Stocker was 19 when he suffered life-threatening injuries stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) in Helmand serving with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, the Royal Welsh in Afghanistan.

Six years since the blast Shaun, 25, from Wrexham is on the way to completing a 100km walk in stages – a feat he never thought possible.

On May 14 he aims to walk 27km from Llanberis to Llyn Padarn and along local footpaths, and is asking people to join him and donate for his fundraising for Blind Veterans UK.
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Welch Iraq Veteran With PTSD Found Dead After Absence of Support

Iraq veteran tasered by police after Pwllheli pub fight dies days before a court appearance
Daily Post
BY TOM DAVIDSON
10 SEPTEMBER 2015

Geraint Llyr Jones who had PTSD had been due to be sentenced for his part in a disturbance at the Pen Cob

Ex-soldier Geraint Llyr Jones, 32, was found dead in Pwllheli

“This is an absolutely classic case of a soldier leaving the army with PTSD and receiving no support or training whatsoever on his discharge.

An ex-soldier who was tasered by police in a pub fracas has died, days before a court appearance.

The death of Geraint Llyr Jones, 32, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, is not being treated as suspicious.

Mr Jones, who had served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in Iraq died at an address on Upper Ala Road in Pwllheli on Sunday.

The 32-year-old, originally from Nefyn, had pleaded guilty to charges of obstructing a police officer, common assault and criminal damage at JD Wetherspoon-run Pen Cob in June this year.

During the incident, police officers had to use a taser gun on Mr Jones so he could be apprehended.
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SHOT AT DAWN:WWI 15 Welsh Soldiers Executed for Shell Shock

Shot at dawn: The 15 Welshman executed during the First World War - by their own side
Wales Online
By Rachael Misstear
Oct 05, 2014

A picture of Private William Jones (left) with an unidentified soldier

Private William Jones was one of as one of 306 young British soldiers who received the ultimate punishment for military offences

Private William Jones was probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) induced by the horrors of the Great War.

But after deserting the young solider turned himself in – and later found himself blindfolded and put before a firing squad.

The young solider from the Vale of Neath was one of 306 young British soldiers – 15 of them serving in Welsh ranks – who received the ultimate punishment for military offences such as desertion, cowardice, falling asleep or striking an officer. They were all shot at dawn.

In 2006 a blanket pardon was issued for the men who died this way following a petition in the years after the First World War.

Now a new book by Neath author Robert King, who campaigned and supported the petition, portrays the brutality faced by the 15 Welshmen who all faced this terrifying end.

Shot at Dawn looks at how during the First World War the concept of ‘shell shock’ – now known as PTSD – was not known and was not accepted as an excuse for desertion or any of the other offences which resulted in men being shot.

“Jones was a stretcher bearer in France who went missing on June 15, 1917, after taking a wounded soldier to the dressing station.

“The job of a stretcher bearer entailed going out into no-man’s-land collecting wounded and dead soldiers and their body parts and returning them to the dressing station.

“It was a horrendous duty for such a young man and it could have unhinged him, causing him to desert.”
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