Veterans' Wellbeing

In 1971 at 15 years old, he joined the Army as a musician. When he was 18, he was deployed to Northern Ireland to perform The Last Post at the burial of fallen comrades.  Due to the lack of available manpower, he was ordered to remain there for a further four months as a guard in an internment camp. He had no previous operational experience, and found this tour of duty traumatic and shocking. After a failed marriage, years of feeling disconnected and having isolated himself on a farm on the Gower, it was not until his GP referred him to a counsellor in 2007 that PTSD was diagnosed whereupon he started his journey to recovery. He is still not completely recovered, but in the intervening years he had spent much time drawn to horses, working with them, and having attended the Dare To Live workshop. The impact of his trauma has affected his ability to continue as a musician. He said that “connecting with horses has had a real positive impact on my mental health. They don’t judge you, you don’t have to justify your existence to them. They accept you for how you are. They soothe me.”