Using the fascinating veteran interviews from his upcoming book, After the Wall Came Down, and a wealth of recent studies, bestselling author Andrew Richards provides first-hand insight into the minds of veterans post-wartime, especially during COVID-19.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the entire country in many ways, including mental health. Every generation has suffered. A University of Glasgow study examined the effects during the height of the pandemic and found that an increased percentage of the population are suffering from loneliness and depression, and are harbouring thoughts of self-harm.
Even before the pandemic, there was already a mental health crisis, including (but certainly not limited to) the veteran community. Soldiers who enlisted in the forces after the fall of the Berlin Wall have served in the Gulf War, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Thousands with mostly undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have since turned to drink or drugs, been incarcerated, become homeless, or taken their own lives.
“After serving the army for 23 years, he told me that he was left feeling like he had committed a crime.”
Although the issue of mental health amongst serving soldiers and veterans has received greater awareness and support in recent years, until quite recently soldiers leaving the ranks were left to fend for themselves. One soldier I interviewed for my book After the Wall Came Down was medically discharged in 2014, after being diagnosed with ‘chronic and profound PTSD.’ After serving in the Army for 23 years, he told me that he was left feeling like he had committed a crime. Another soldier who left after serving for 24 years showed all the signs of PTSD but received no medical screening. He has since received help through a charitable trust.
Layer on the devastation of a year-long (and still ongoing) pandemic and veterans suffering from PTSD are especially vulnerable. Unable to get the services they desperately need during lockdown; many veterans now say their mental health issues have gotten worse. In June 2020, the charity Help for Heroes conducted a survey that showed over 50% of veterans were not managing their mental health well compared to before Covid-19.
As the country now starts to beat back the pandemic and try to find a new normal, it is not the time to assume we’ll all be okay, especially our veterans and the charities who serve them. Many charities, big and small, that depend on annual giving are in dire need of help. Vital support services they provide for soldiers and their families are dependent upon public support.
My time spent talking with ex-servicemen has shown that in addition to large organizations such as the Royal British Legion, SSAFA, and Help for Heroes, there are many small but incredibly important non-profit groups helping thousands of ex-servicemen in times of need. The organizations below make up just a short list:
- The Buchanan Trust (https://www.buchanan-trust.org.uk/)
- Care after Combat (https://www.careaftercombat.org/)
- East Durham Veterans Trust (https://www.eastdurhamveterans.co.uk/)
- Help a Squaddie (https://helpasquaddie.org.uk/)
- Heroes Haven – Swanage (https://www.heroes-haven.org.uk/m/index.php)
- Holidays for Heroes – Jersey (http://www.hols4heroesjersey.org.je/)
- Veterans Lifeline (http://www.veteranslifeline.co.uk/)
- Veterans Outreach Support (https://www.vosuk.org/)
- Veterans United Against Suicide (https://twitter.com/vuasuicide)
After the Wall Came Down: Soldiering through the Transformation of the British Army 1990 – 2020
By Andrew Richards
The generation of young men and women who joined the British Army during the mid to late 1980s would serve their country during an unprecedented period of history. The ending of the Cold War, combined with a technological revolution, a changing society at home, and new global threats mean that the Army of the second decade of the twentieth-first century – the army this generation of soldiers is now retiring from – is unrecognisable from the one they joined in the late 1980s. This is the story of the soldiers who served in the British Army in those tumultuous decades.
9781612008301 | Hardback | Casemate | £25.00
AVAILABLE TO ORDER FROM CASEMATE ON MARCH 15th
Author: Andrew Richards served 22 years with the Household Cavalry. During his last years of service, he graduated from the Open University with a BA(Hons) degree in History and Classical Studies. Since retiring from the Army, he has written both fiction and non-fiction titles. His first non-fiction book, The Flag, was published by Casemate in 2016.
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