A new year is always daunting as we face the challenges of the next twelve months and, with doom and gloom in the news and freezing weather, it is sometimes hard to look forward with eager anticipation. However, there is so much that is good going on that we can feel optimistic and full of determination, regardless of the snow.

It is now more than two and a half years since Emma suggested that we should ‘do something to help the wounded’. We launched Help for Heroes on 1st October 2007 with the intention of raising some money to help build a swimming pool at Headley Court. A simple appeal, but it was heard across the country and millions of people have joined us in this extraordinary effort to support our Armed Forces.

The swimming pool became a superb Rehabilitation Complex, which will be operational in April this year, but our tasks did not end there. Millions have been raised and millions spent on the direct, practical support of our wounded and at the same time.The public has openly demonstrated its support for the men and women of our Armed Forces; it has been inspirational.

As parents of a young Rifles Officer, Emma and I know what it is like to hear on the news that another soldier has been killed. Each time we hear that, we know that there will be others wounded; some with life changing injuries, some of them friends.

Visiting the badly wounded at Selly Oak and Headley Court is very hard, war is brutal and many of the injuries are horrific. A mother told me she was ‘fine’, it’s not true; her son has lost his legs, so how can she be ‘fine’? She means she is coping, grateful that he is alive and very grateful for the care he is getting but there is no getting away from the fact that his, and her life, has changed forever.

It is not fine; it is grim and we feel desperate when we have these conversations, desperate to do something to help. With H4H we are helping and there is hope. It is two and a half years since we first went to Selly Oak and we are seeing those who we first met there get back on their feet, both on prosthetics and metaphorically.

We are seeing blokes who had no hope, running, climbing, skiing and swimming, looking to the future and most importantly, smiling and laughing. We, all of us who have been a part of the H4H phenomenon share a little part of that, and we have helped put those smiles back and that gives us hope.

We understand that these dreadful injuries occur, we can’t stop that, but we can do our bit to ensure that those injured get the very best chance at a good future. The wounded boys and girls don’t want our pity, they want opportunity, they want to get on with their lives and we want to enable that.

We are working closely with the Armed Forces and other service charities and organisations to create a recovery pathway, a process where the wounded servicemen or women follow a programme that equips them with skills and opportunities for life. We will be funding the Personnel Recovery Centres and other initiatives along the pathway to give them the very best chance to launch back into the rest of their lives. They deserve the very best and we will do all in our power to ensure they get it.

Happy New Year everyone and let’s make it a real cracker!

Thank you

Bryn

As I write this we are starting to focus on a frenetic year ahead here in British Forces Germany (BFG). However, I would like to reflect just briefly on how the BFG H4H team has evolved to date and, importantly, how it continues to do so.

I became the Volunteer Co-ordinator for Germany in April 2009 after a long chat with my dear friend Holly Dyer (who at the time was Bryn’s PA) and Lt Col Fred Hargreaves (he of Battleback fame!). Fred is my neighbour here in Herford and an absolute inspiration with regards all things Help for Heroes! What H4H in BFG required was a little bit of coordination – a reassuring hand on the tiller if you like. Money from across BFG was hurtling into H4H HQ but people here were a little unsure as to where to turn to for help with regards to support for their various events and fundraising activities. It was agreed that BFG would replicate the UK model of having nominated County Volunteers; but instead of counties we would have Garrisons/Stations. As I write, we now have Volunteers in the Garrison towns of Hohne, Fallingbostel, JHQ Rheindalen and Herford.

The variety of events that has taken place across BFG this year is simply extraordinary. Only today, reading our weekly Forces newspaper, Sixth Sense, there are articles about: a charity single sung by rising star 14 year old Asya Pritchard, daughter of a serving soldier; a school music concert; a Mt Everest climb; and a British Army (Germany) football match vs Bielefeld Armenia FC. Incidentally, Bielefeld Armenia FC has close links with BA(G) and has recently made a donation to H4H. Earlier in the year the A33 Anglo-German scooter club nominated H4H as their preferred charity for their fundraising activities. For H4H to receive support from German civilians is, to my mind, quite wonderful. Other events that have taken place include numerous marathons, Naafi catering competitions, merchandise stands at the Army Families Federation Conference and the Herford Bismarck Challenge, parachute jumps, boxing matches, coffee mornings, a Commanding Officer chest wax (ouch!) not to mention all the events that somehow weren’t officially registered but people were keen to get on and raise money anyway! Note to all those reading this in BFG – if you know of someone organizing a H4H event, PLEASE tell them to register it on the website!

Future events include another Naafi catering competition later in the year with a celebrity chef (this year’s hugely successful event was attended by James Martin who very generously made a large personal donation to H4H). In Gutersloh Garrison in January there is to be a H4H Fun Day which will include a football tournament played in fancy dress! In JHQ in February there is an 8 week weight loss challenge event being held, which will appeal to those of us who have overdone the Gluhwein and currywursts at the Christmas markets! Individuals need to lose a minimum of 2lb per week for the duration of the challenge. Sponsors can pay a donation or an amount per pound lost.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the H4H staff in the UK for their continued and unfailing support to us here in Germany, and to wish everyone an extremely happy, successful and safe 2010.