The Sandbag Times Issue No: 39

The Veterans’ Magazine 

Issue 39 | January 2018 

Mrs Fox Goes To War 

The Chronicles of Little Hope 

1939 - 1945 

And so it begins... 

SBT News Update 

Plus all The Latest National & International 

News from the Armed Forces & Veterans’ World 

SPONSORED BY: 

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 

Supporting #TommyAtkins

CoNTENTS 

SBT News 

4 More Troops to Afghan 

Number of troops deployed 

set to rise to 600 

4 Calls To Unite Charities 

An MP has called for Mental 

Health Charities & 

Organisations to be united. 

5 Prince Harry Pal Found 

Dead 

A Warrant Officer who 

served with Prince Harry 

has been found dead. 

5 US Veteran Found Dead 

in Parking Lot 

Veteran dies after release 

from VA in Freezing parking 

lot 

ROBIN HOOD COMPLEX 

By Emile Gessen 

Page 10 

Features 

8 306 Remembered 

Soldiers shot at dawn 

during WW1 remembered 

10 Robin Hood Complex 

Filmmaker & Veteran Emile 

Gessen in Syria 

20 Chronicles of Little 

Hope 

Hostile environments and 

The continuing adventures 

of Mrs Fox 

Regular 

7 Historic Tommy Atkins 

Bosnia & Herzegovina 

13 Have Faith 

Choices and Blame... 

18 SBT Information 

A page dedicated to back 

issues, information, book 

reviews etc 

23 Poetry Corner 

Poetry and written art from 

our readers 

January 2018 

Editor: Pablo Snow 

Magazine Manager: Matt Jarvis 

Chief Sponsor: Ken Brooks 

Patro: Matt Neal 

Honourary Patron: 

Jacqueline Hurley 

Additional editors: 

Albert ‘Robbie’ McRobb 

Jane Shields 

Radio & Media Manager 

Jim Wilde 

Recording Engineer and PR 

Manager 

Vince Ballard 

VIP Distribution 

John Terry 

Email: info@sandbagtimes.com 

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 3 |

NEWS 

THE VETERANS’ MAGAzINE 

SBT newS January Edition Ken Brooks osteopath 

Sponsored by 

More British Troops To Be Deployed To Afghanistan 

British Troops deployed to 

Afghanistan is set to rise to 

600 to train Afghan soldiers 

already in action in 

Resolute Support. The 

main initiatives are to 

combat the increase in 

suicide bombers and the 

huge amount of IED’s 

found during the last year. 

Up to 85 troops from the 

1st Battalion, Welss Guards 

will be deployed on a training 

basis only to train and mentor 

Afghan forces which replaced 

the NATO-led combat mission 

three years ago. The troops 

will be part of the International 

Security Assistance Force 

(ISAF) which has was 

constructed in order to train, 

mentor and further assist the 

Afghanistan Forces with the 

aim to defeat the ongoing 

terrorist activities in the 

province. The latest suicide 

bomb in Kabul killed 41 and 

injured 84 on a Shia Cultural 

Centre on 28th December 2017. 

The recent plans to increase 

British Military presence in 

Afghanistan comes after calls to 

further increase support in the 

area and assist Afghan Military 

Forces. More can be read on 

this story at www.forces.net. 

Calls To Unite Forces & Veterans Mental Health Services 

A Plymouth MP and the chief 

executive of the country’s leading 

military charity for mental health 

are calling for the establishment 

of a national framework of mental 

health care for veterans. 

According to the Ministry of 

Defence’s (MoD) medical 

discharge report there has been a 

“significant” rise in the number of 

service personnel being 

discharged due to mental health 

related reasons in the last two 

years. And the country's leading 

veterans’ mental health charity, 

Combat Stress is reporting a 143 

per cent rise in veterans accessing 

its support in 10 years. 

Improvements to the system have 

been introduced by NHS England 

since April 2017 and include the 

mandatory recording of the total 

number of veterans each mental 

health care trust or provider is 

treating. Prior to April this was 

not mandatory: information 

revealed via a series of Freedom 

of Information requests to all of 

the UK’s mental health care trusts 

in November 2016, revealed that 

more than half of those that 

supplied data, did not make a total 

record of how many veterans they 

were treating. Despite 

improvements, there is an absence 

of an agreed, statutory, unified 

system of care for veterans for 

every mental health care provider 

to follow, nor an agreed, statutory 

training or awareness programme 

for mental healthcare 

professionals to deal with the 

specific needs of former service 

personnel, resulting in a 

“patchwork approach” to care 

from one trust to another. This is 

the exact issue the Sandbag Times 

raised with the MOD in 2016. The 

failings in the NHS system 

reflected the inaccuracy of the 

statistics given to the MoD and 

the Government. It would be 

interesting to see the ammended 

statistics in due course. 

Somehow, I fear the true figures 

may never be truly revealed in 

fear of a public outcry. 

Manchester Blast: Royal Navy Veteran Honoured 

A FORMER Royal Navy chef 

has been hailed a hero for 

rushing to the aid of victims of 

the Manchester Arena terror 

attack. Jon Morrey, now a police 

community support officer, was 

on patrol at Manchester Victoria 

Station when the blast ripped 

through the foyer of the arena 

on May 22 last year, leaving 22 

victims dead. Last night he was 

one of four British transport 

Police (BTP) officers, who were 

first at the scene, to be 

commended for their actions in 

a special ceremony at 

Manchester Town Hall. Mr 

Morrey, 43, said he and his 

colleagues were trained not to 

run towards explosions but they 

ignored that advice and were 

treating the seriously wounded 

within 60 seconds of hearing the 

blast. Read More Here 

‘Sir’ To Be Dropped 

From Army phonecalls 

Soldiers who answer Army 

phones are no longer allowed 

to use the word ‘Sir’ when initially 

answering. The ruling follows 

remarks that state it is no 

longer gender appropriate and 

updated. Colonel Steve 

Davies, the army's assistant 

head of employment, said personnel 

should avoid gendered 

terms such as 'Sir' because 

they were "outdated". British 

soldiers typically answer calls 

from senior personnel with the 

greeting, "How can I help you 

Sir?" But it has been suggested 

the last word be dropped. 

The Defence Secretary has 

halted plans to scrap the slogan 

‘Army, Be The Best’ and 

the Army Crest which was to 

cost £520,000 in rebranding. 

SBT: Is this how the MOD is 

spending the Defence Budget? 

| 4 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk

NEWS 

THE VETERANS’ MAGAzINE 

SBT newS January Edition Ken Brooks osteopath 

US Veteran Found Dead In Freezing Cold 

Parking Lot After Being Released From VA 

The family of an Army veteran is 

accusing a Veterans Affairs 

hospital of negligence after they 

released the man, who was later 

found dead in a freezing-cold 

parking lot on New Year’s Eve. 

Vance Perry, 57, moved from 

Atlanta to Madison, Wisconsin 

last month and was recently 

picked up by a Veterans Affairs 

van for a routine appointment for 

paranoid schizophrenia. He was 

then admitted for mental 

instability, but was released last 

Friday wearing just a light jacket. 

“They didn’t make sure that he 

got in a car,” his daughter Erika 

said. “He walked away.” A 

hospital spokesperson confirmed 

that Perry arrived via the disabled 

American Veterans van program, 

but said the hospital arranged for 

him to take a taxi home, adding 

that it’s “unclear why the veteran 

did not utilize that transportation 

and return home per the 

discharge plan.” His daughter, 

however, thinks the hospital 

should have done more to make 

sure he got in a taxi. Detectives 

are currently investigating Perry’s 

death, and a medical examiner has 

indicated that he likely died of 

hypothermia. His daughter and 

her four other siblings are 

considering taking legal action 

against the hospital to bring 

justice to their father. Meanwhile, 

Paul Rickert of Middleton 

Memorial Veterans Hospital 

addressed the tragedy in a 

statement: “We are terribly 

saddened to learn of the loss of 

this veteran. Prior to his death, he 

voluntarily checked out of our 

facility, which had no grounds to 

prevent him forcibly from doing 

so.” His family is still 

determining when and where to 

hold his funeral. 

A decorated British soldier 

who fought alongside 

Prince Harry in 

Afghanistan is believed to 

have killed himself after 

complaining to colleagues 

about the treatment he was 

receiving for PTSD. 

Married Warrant Officer 

Nathan Hunt, 39, was 

found dead last week after 

confiding to Royal 

Engineers colleagues that 

he was struggling to cope 

with the effects of 

battlefield trauma. He also 

described the care 

Sponsored by 

Warrant officer Who Served With Prince Harry 

Found Dead After PTSD Treatment Complaints 

provided to him by the 

Army as ‘useless’. The 

father-of-one protected 

Prince Harry when they 

belonged to an army desert 

reconnaissance unit. 

Warrant Officer Hunt’s 

highly dangerous role was 

to identify roadside bombs 

encountered by the elite 

force as they crossed 

Helmand Province on 

secret missions to ambush 

the Taliban. Prince Harry 

has written a private letter 

of condolence to Mr 

Hunt’s family according to 

Army Veteran Recruiting For PTSD Retreat 

A former army veteran is looking for new recruits to join his 

ranks at a retreat which supports soldiers who are battling 

PTSD. Paul Marriott, 48, who was born in Blackburn and now 

lives on River Road, Thornton, served in the military between 

1986 and 1999 and recently used his pension to purchase 

three-and-a-half acres of woodland on the banks of the River 

Ribble near BAE. Over the last year or so, Paul has been 

working the woods to turn it into a safe retreat, which has been 

named called Belisama Retreat, for those battling PTSD. 

The 

retreat is being run by veterans 'for veterans' but is also there 

for local groups like cadets, organised community youth 

groups, to be taught bushcraft and shown the abundant wildlife 

there. There are many planned projects for veterans to help 

with their recovery at the retreat including, building badger and 

otter viewing huts, teepee construction, bronze age hut and 

tree house's and fishing. Read on this story here 

Buckingham Palace 

sources. WO Hunt’s 

former colleagues accused 

the Ministry of Defence of 

letting him down. One 

said: ‘Nathan was a 

cracking bloke who saved 

a lot of lives in 

Afghanistan. He fought 

the demons in his head for 

years but it seems they 

won in the end. He said 

that the care he was 

receiving for his condition 

was useless and he was 

thinking of getting out of 

the Army. Read More 


The Historical Tommy Atkins

The Historical Tommy Atkins 

Bosnia- 

Herzegovina 

Written By 

Peter Macey 

This year in the Tommy Atkins Diary we will 

be looking back one hundred years to the 

events leading up to the Centenary of the 

Armistice. But in between that we will also be 

looking at other history changing events that 

have occurred since that time. In the early 

1990's British Servicemen were called upon to 

take on a Peace Keeping role which was 

quickly going to develop into something more 

than just keeping the peace as Britain were 

drawn into a conflict and witnessed some of 

the worst atrocities carried out by former 

friends, neighbours and work colleagues 

against each other and the term Ethnic 

Cleansing came into our language. 

On 13th January 1993 two Warrior armoured 

vehicles made their way along a road in the 

area of Gornji Vakuf heading towards the main 

town. Between them was an ambulance 

carrying three female civilian casualties. 

Earlier in the day the Warrior team had been 

providing a personal escort for the 

Commanding Officer of 1 Cheshires, Lt Col 

Bob Stewart, who was visiting Gornji Vakuf to 

try to broker a ceasefire between the Muslim 

ARBiH troops and the Croat HVO troops. 

Shortly after the negotiations started a call was 

received requesting an armoured escort for an 

ambulance and two warriors were assigned to 

the job. The convoy of three vehicles set off at 

around 1030, the lead vehicle commanded by 

Corporal Furniss and driven by Lance Corporal 

Wayne 'Eddie' Edwards, attached to the 

Cheshires from the Royal Welch Fusiliers. 

Eddie drove with his hatch open for greater 

visibility and all seemed okay. Then around 

twelve minutes after leaving the base as the 

lead warrior crossed a bridge a single shot rang 

out hitting Eddie Edwards in the head. Despite 

the efforts of a senior medical officer in the 

rear warrior Eddie died at the scene. 

Wayne 'Eddie' Edwards was the first British 

casualty in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 

Yugoslavia following World War II was set up 

to include six republics; Bosnia and 

Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, 

Macedonia and Slovenia. There were also two 

autonomous states, Kosovo and Vojvodina. 

Each republic had its own branch of the 

League of Communists of Yugoslavia with the 

President for Life being Josip Broz Tito. And 

under this regime the country became 

politically and economically powerful in the 

region with peace across the country. But in 

May 1980 President Tito died and over the next 

ten years the whole country and all the 

individual republics became embroiled in a 

fight for power and with killing men, women 

and children on a daily basis. 

Things came to a head in the early 1990's and 

the United Nations with its supporting nations 

including Britain formed the UN Protection 

Force (UNPROFOR), established as a peacekeeping 

force and included British deployment 

of troops into Bosnia-Herzegovina in October 

1992 under the codename Op Grapple. 

But following the death of Eddie Edwards in 

January 1993 the British Government changed 

the philosophy to that of peace-making. 

Following news of the first British casualty, the 

Minister of Defence at the time, Malcolm 

Rifkind, announced that a Royal Navy Task 

Force would be deployed to the Adriatic which 

included an Aircraft Carrier. This was to be the 

first deployment of a carrier on active service 

since the Falkland Islands War in 1982. The 

British Government was determined that any 

further attacks on British UNPROFOR troops 

would be met with artillery and air attacks. 

British armed forces from all three arms of the 

Service continued to serve in Bosnia for 

another fifteen years and would see more than 

fifty casualties and many more wounded. 

BRITBAT and its supporting sub-units won 

great praise by becoming the guardians of the 

only functioning main supply route into the 

core of Bosnia and ultimately Sarajevo and 

Tuzla. The maintenance of Routes Triangle and 

Diamond would remain a critical combat 

engineering task, the Royal Engineers carrying 

out their usual high standards of work. 

Three days after the death of Eddie Edwards 

Bob Stewart managed to broker a temporary 

ceasefire in Gornji Vakuf in order to lay a 

wreath at the spot where Edwards was killed. 

At exactly 2.00pm both sides paused hostilities 

while four Warriors drove to the bridge. 

Accompanying the British troops at the 

ceremony were the commanders of the ARBiH 

and HVO units. The Warrior Commander that 

Eddie was driving, Cpl Furniss tied a wreath of 

yellow and red carnations and pine branches, 

spelling out the name 'Ed', to the bridge. After 

a minutes’ silence the opposing commanders 

saluted and the British withdrew. Hostilities 

recommenced moments later. 

Lance Corporal Wayne Edwards' funeral was 

held at his home town of Rhosymedre, Wales 

on 25 January 1993. In May 1993 Eddie's 

Mother attended a parade at the Cheshires' 

home base in Germany where medals for 

service were awarded. She was presented with 

her son's United Nations Medal by Lt Col Bob 

Stewart. 

On 1st October 2011, as a tribute to him and 

the other peacekeepers that lost their lives 

during the conflict, the Mayor of Gornji Vakuf- 

Uskoplje renamed the bridge where the driver 

was hit to The Lance Corporal Wayne Edwards 

Bridge. The official ceremony was attended by 

Wayne's sister, the British Ambassador the 

Defence Attache and Col Bob Stewart. 

Do you have memories of Op Grapple or the 

Bosnian conflicts? However difficult they may 

be to talk about you can guarantee there will be 

others that will share your memories and we 

are all here to support each other. 

We would like to hear from you here at SBT 

and at Forgotten Veterans UK. 


Remembering The 306 

There have been many infamies regarding the first world war 

but few stand out as much as the butchering of 306 men that 

were executed for cowardice in the face of the enemy or 

desertion. Most of these did not have defence at their court 

martial and evidence was ignored. The Sandbag Times looks 

back at one of the biggest injustices of history and asks why 

so many young men were shot for very little or no reason. 

When I look at so many of our veterans 

suffering from, what we now call PTSD, I 

wonder how many of those would have found 

themselves in a very different position a century 

ago. Shellshock was very commonplace in the 

trenches, in fact it was just after the First World 

War in 1919 that the charity which we now 

know as Combat Stress was born. However, 

306 soldiers during the conflict died at the 

hands of firing squads, condemned by 

makeshift court-marshalls, very often without 

defence and without crucial medical and other 

important evidence which very well may have 

saved their lives. The youngest being only 16. 

The callousness by th Army Brass served as a 

sick deterrent for troops not to desert their 

posts or refuse to fight. The function of the 

'threat of executions' was to a intimidate and 

frighten soldiers in the battlefield....'Risk the 

possibility of a bullet in battle or certain death if 

one didn't do their duty. These are just a few of 

the case files from that bloody time. 

One 19-year-old, Pte George Roe of the King's 

Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was executed for 

desertion, even though one witness told his 

court martial: "[Roe] came up to me and asked 

SHoT AT DAWN 

if I was a policeman. He told me that he had 

lost his way and had been wandering about for 

two days." 

Another 19-year-old, Pte James Archibald of 

the 17th Royal Scots, told his comrades he "felt 

queer" while en route to the trenches at 6.30pm 

on 14 May 1916. At 3pm the next day, he was 

found asleep in a barn. He was shot by firing 

squad three weeks later. 

Pte Joseph Byers was under-age when he 

enlisted in 1914. By January 1915, the war had 

ground the young man down and he went 

absent without leave. After being caught, he 

admitted attempting to desert in the naive belief 

that his honesty and contrition would earn him 

a prison sentence. He was shot at dawn two 

weeks later. 

Pte Abraham Bevistein was one of 250,000 

British soldiers who gave a false age to join up 

and enlisted into the 11Bn the Middlesex 

Regiment aged 16. But after only a month in 

the front line the teenager suffered shell shock 

after a grenade exploded next to him and he 

went to the rear to seek help. After being told 

by a medical officer that he was fit to return to 

fighting, Pte Bevistein, a Jew from the East End 

of London, wandered off and was arrested for 

desertion. In a letter to his mother, he wrote: 

"We were in the trenches and I was ill so I went 

out and they took me to prison and I am in a 

bit of trouble now and won't get any money for 

a long time." The family had not known that 

the teenager had joined up until he came home 

in uniform. A few months later they received a 

telegram telling them that Pte Bevistein had 

been sentenced to death for desertion and shot 

on March 20, 1916. 

So, 100 years after the First World War, I feel 

their are still many questions to be asked and 

many lessons still need to be learned. But 

before going any further I must state that the 

306 were pardoned back in 2006. What 

troubles me is a ‘Pardon’ is only a release from 

sentence. The original sentences and charges, 

no matter how ludicrous were never altered or 

withdrawn. To me, thst is still those in charge 

refusing to admit the truth. I often think if 

things were the same today, if those in charge 

still had the same ways of dealing with it’s 

troops, how many would have been put up 

against the wall. Thankfully, this is not the case 

but there is still a refusal to recognise the 

crippling effects on the mind. This brings me 

to a final question. How many of our veterans 

in prison have been ignored in the same way. 

Agreed, not the same consequences but 

certainly with the same degree of ignorance. 

Men who have been subject to the most horrific 

situations imaginable, have ended up in 

situations that they have been unable to control 

through traumatic illnesses. What does it boil 

down to? The simple fact that those in power 

cannot be seen to be the ones at fault. If the 

MoD/ Government were to recognise this, 

imagine how many libel cases would ensue. 

Just a thought... Rest in Peace, the 306. 


THE ToMMy ATKINS TRUST 

The Tommy Atkins Centre... 

Here’s wishing everyone a successful and happy 2018. Here 

at The Tommy Atkins Centre it’s business as usual. Since our 

official opening in November the word appears to getting out 

there about us. We have confirmed bookings from Combat 

Stress to run assessments and one to one’s beginning mid 

January, and will also be meeting with Herefords Defence 

Medical Welfare Services in a few weeks time to see what we 

can do to help each other out. 

Thankfully the centre was quiet over the Christmas and New 

Year period, but it’s all systems go from here on in. Our 

psychotherapist is already providing invaluable help to 

veterans here, and we have signposted a few people to 

Combat Stress and SSAFA for further assistance. We’re also 

trying our utmost to secure some government funding to help 

towards running costs, so fingers crossed we can persuade 

them our Centre offers a necessary and invaluable service to 

our local veteran community. 

We are open from 0930 – 1530 on Tuesdays and Thursdays 

and always welcome any veterans who’d like to call in just to 

have a look around, or to find out what we do, and especially 

anyone who is looking for any assistance. We’re also looking 

for several volunteers who can spare a few hours during 

those days who’d like to become part of our team here at 26 

Sansome Walk, Worcester. 

Jane & Marie 

www.thetommyatkinstrust.com 

Ken Brooks Osteopath 

BSc. (Hons) Osteopathic Medicine ND DO 

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Or email on: 

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www.kenbrooksosteopath.co.uk 


EMILE GHESSEN 

The Robin Hood Complex 

By Emile Ghessen , Producer of Robin Hood Complex 

Former Royal Marines 

Commando turned documentary 

maker, Emile 

Ghessen, swapped his rifle 

for a camera to document 

the plight of international 

volunteers fighting Islamic 

State in Iraq and Syria. 

With no experience as a 

film maker, he bought a 

camera and booked a flight 

to the Middle East, alone 

and unarmed to document 

the men’s motives to take 

up arms against Islamic 

State. 

The combination of Emile’s 

family being Syrian, himself 

being a former Royal 

Marines Commando and 

having attended the same 

school as ‘Jihadi John’ 

gave Emile the inspiration 

to make a documentary. 

After several trips to the 

region under fire and isolated, 

Emile has created a 

gripping feature documentary 

that gives an intimate 

insight into the motivation 

of international volunteers 

in his documentary, ‘Robin 

Hood Complex’. 

At a recent Q&A Session, 

Emile allowed us in the 

background of Robin Hood 

Complex revealing what 

inspired him to produce 

such a heart touching and 

exeptional film. Here are 

some of those questions 

You made a movie about men from the west 

fighting IS. You have taken a lot of time, 

effort and danger for it. Why would you do 

that? 

I feel it’s an important story that people need to 

know. We hear stories of people that have 

joined Islamic State, but not so many stories of 

people that join the kurdish forces to fight 

against Islamic State. So I wanted these men to 

have a voice. The reason I felt I needed to do 

this is because I’m a former Royal Marines 

Commando and my father is from Syria. I have 

the military skills that could help fight Isis, I 

have family in Syria affected by this war, but I 

didn’t feel the need to go pick up a rifle to fight, 

but these men did. That’s why I was so 

interested in this story! I feel swapping my rifle 

for a camera is far more powerful in this war. 

You financed the film with crowdfunding. Two 

questions: What kind of people have 

supported you and your project? And: Only 

a few professional media from the West 

report directly from the countries about this 

war and even fewer journalists are at the 

frontline. The information comes from 

freelancers like you and the rapporteurs of 

the war-parties. How do you see this 

development? 

I’ve done 6 trips to the region over 3 years 

covering this war. I have self funded the whole 

project myself. In 2016 when the offensive for 

Mosul was announced, I wanted to be there, 

but had no money so I asked for donations on 

Gofundme for my flights and people were 

generous to help me with my flight costs. Other 

than this one trip, I’ve funded the whole thing. 

It’s been tough going, I’ve nearly lost my house 

because I haven’t had the money and my credit 

cards are maxed out, but with determination 

I’ve always managed to find some work when I 

return in between editing to help fund my trips. 

It will be a lie to say it’s been easy going, 

because it hasn’t been. Robin Hood Complex is 

a passion of love, so once I started it, I was 

going to finish it no matter what. The advantage 

I have is, my previous military skills. I turn up 

somewhere on my own, I carry a sleeping bag 

and jut live on the frontline. It’s what I’m used 

to. I know what life is like on the frontline from 

being a Royal Marine so that builds trusts that 

often other journalists don’t get. 

You're a military man. What were you doing in 

the army? 

I served in the British Royal Marines 

Commando for 12 years. During 2000-2012. I 

served three tours of Afghanistan one in the 

mountains near the Pakistan border and two in 

Helmand province and served during the 

invasion of Iraq in 2003. I loved my military 

career and was well respected. I just felt it was 

time to move on so I decided to leave. Once I 

left I went into the security sector doing body 

guarding and anti piracy security in the Indian 

Ocean. However, it didn’t interest me so that 

how this journey started. 

You called the movie Robin Hood Complex. 

That sounds very psychological. Is it the 

fighters' task to balance their own psyche? 

Feeling better? 

Many people ask me why I called it Robin 

Hood Complex. I didn’t want to just call it 

something like “Isis fighters” or that. I’ve 

wanted to humanise these men. That’s what 

Robin Hood Complex is about, it’s not about 

men shooting loads of guns, it’s about 

understanding who these men are. I haven’t 

made this documentary to glorify their actions, 

nor have I made it to judge them. So when you 

think about Robin Hood as a character, he 

stole from the rich to give to the poor! That’s 

noble of him, but he’s still committing a crime. 

So I wanted people to watch this documentary 

and be open minded towards these men and 

make up their own mind if they think they are 

doing good or bad in the region. 

You're an ex-military, many volunteers are 

professionals. Did you also meet people 

who didn't have military training? A german 

volunteer reported once, he has met a lot of 

absolute naive persons and that it was 

difficult to rely on them. 

I meet lots of men with no previous experience. 

Yes I would say some were naive. We live in a 

world where Hollywood and computer games 

have glorified war and killing. For anyone that 

has seen real combat knows it’s full of highs, 

but also plenty of lows. You can’t unsee things. 

That’s why so many men have PTSD from Iraq 

and Afghanistan. War can be horrible. I feel 

many of these men who have no military 

experience think it’s a bit of a game. That when 

you die you come back alive like in call of duty. 

This clearly isn’t the case and many men have 

been killed out there fighting as a volunteer. 

Saying that, I’ve met several volunteers who 

have no military experience and are respected 

by the Kurds and other volunteers. Some men 

bring different skills. But they all have their 

own reasons for going there. 

What is important to the locals about 

volunteers? Their real military value or the 

sign of the world that they are not alone? 

These volunteers are of massive importance to 

the Kurds. They treat these volunteer extremely 

well. The Kurds all look at European countries 

as brilliant places to live, so when you have a 

volunteer that gives up his live back home to 

become a unpaid volunteer sleeping on the 

floor, eating rice and bread on the frontline, 

they respect them. The Kurds feel the west 

have forgotten about them in this war, but 

these men and some women haven’t. 

In all wars people die in a cruel way. In 

many wars criminal excesses of violence 

happen, but in my opinion the wars in Syria 

and Iraq are special. I have never seen so 


RoBIN HooD CoMPLEx 

much unleashed violence and sadism - here 

from Germany – in wars like in Eastern 

Ukraine. What does do that to the 

Volunteers? 

IS have been brutal. However all wars have 

been brutal in some way or another. The 

difference in the war with Isis is social media 

and smart phones. IS have exploit these. Al 

qaeda sat in caves with a shakey Camcorder 

making videos, ISIS have gone further and 

make Hollywood propaganda videos that can 

then be delivered into your front room or 

bedroom at home to your smart phone. That’s 

why we can see their reign of terror. This is why 

the Iraqi army ran away when they heard IS was 

coming towards them. Isis have taken 

advantage of social media and the fear this 

gives us. This is what drives these volunteers. 

They see it at home and feel they need to do 

something about it. These volunteers use 

Facebook to contact kurdish groups and they 

also use social media to show the world what’s 

going on from the other side. The world can 

see the horrors of war much easier these days. 

Russia declares the IS defeated - meaning 

the end of big military operations in brigade 

strength. This is far from being a peace as 

we know it, nor it is a democracy like in 

Switzerland. What do you think: will it go 

better for the people there? A little better? Or 

do the battles continue 

IS are officially defeated on the battlefield. They 

no longer have a caliphate like they did, 

however we haven’t seen the last of them. Over 

the coming months and years we will see a 

massive insurgent campaign by them in Iraq 

and Syria with an increase in suicide attacks on 

civilian locals, we will see them exploit security 

situations in other countries like recently in the 

Philippines. We will also see continued terror 

attacks in Europe from homegrown terrorists. 

Be prepared for ISIS 2.0 who will become more 

vocal on social media and I feel now the 

attention will slowly drift away from IS, al qaeda 

will make a come back. We can not say they 

are defeated, because how do you defeat an 

ideology! 

When the war ends, what happens then? In 

Europe, people fear the return of IS fighters 

and their families - but what do the 

volunteers do? Do they go back and sell 

furniture again? 

Many of the volunteers that feature in Robin 

Hood Complex have returned home and have 

indeed returned to civilian life. They all tell me 

they want to return, but if there is no fighting 

what are they going to return to do? Are these 

men a threat to national security, well that’s for 

the security services to investigate. Many 

volunteers that have returned to the UK have 

been arrested under Terrorism law while the 

police investigate them. None are yet to be 

charged. So yes, most do just slip back into the 

civilian work place. 

In Germany, the war in Syria is often 

compared to the 30-year war, because of the 

engagement of foreign powers. Can you give 

me your personal assessment of the role of 

the West, the United States and Russia? 

I’m very vocal on the West’s involvement in 

Syria. I’ve stood in British Parliament and 

openly said this. We fail the Middle East time 

after time with our foreign policy. Syria was a 

liberal peaceful country before the Arab spring 

and the uprising of rebels funded by us. Russia 

and Iran are allies of Assad and will never allow 

him to fall unless they wanted him to. The 

Saudis want rid of Assad and we supported 

them in this thinking in 2010/11 he would be 

overthrown. We supplied ‘moderate rebels’ not 

that I believe there is anything moderate about 

these rebels with weapons, money and training 

that has been used to support jihadist groups. 

We funded rebels in Afghanistan to fight the 

soviets, we called these fighters “freedom 

fighters” when they called theirselves al qaeda 

and attacked us, we called them terrorists. The 

west fail the Middle East time after Time, 

because we don’t understand the cultural 

differences. I personally feel ashamed by our 

politicians who are often short sighted and 

greedy. I believe we should all be held 

accountable for the mass killing of people in 

Iraq and Syria. The uprising was the start of the 

fire and the west and Russia, Saudi and Iran 

have all just kept on pouring fuel on the fire. 

For far too long the war in Syria has been 

ongoing. Is are just exploiting the power 

vacuum. There are far greater problems now in 

Syria than just IS. 

I hope Robin Hood Complex opens peoples 

minds to what’s going on in the region. 

Check out ‘Robin Hood Complex’ at 

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/robinhoodcomplex 


CANADA CALLING 

Canada Calling 

The Canuck Connection 

Happy New Year! 

In just over 2 weeks the 2018 Winter Olympics and 

Paralympics will take place in South Korea. It was 

nice to see that a South Korean group has purchased 

tickets for Foreign Soldiers studying in Korea: 

https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/news/hanwhagroup-buys-1-400-pyeongchang-olympic-tickets-forforeign-soldiers-the-needy 

It is heartening to see that talks between 

North and South Korea are taking place with regard to the Olympics. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-south-korea-talks-1.4474110 

Even the Orange Man in Washington has decided to postpone joint 

Military Exercises with South Korea until after the completion of the 

Games. Now the biggest Conundrum to face Canada’s military in many 

a year. The current Government are planning on making Marijuana 

Legal, This really will affect our Military. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stoned-soldiers-military-legalizedmarijuana-1.4473638 

It will be very difficult for our Military Leaders in these days of 

Political Correctness, to change the Military’s view on Marijuana. On 

face book I give you some of the comments thus far. 

Carol Hutton: Easy. Simply make it a condition of engagement on 

safety grounds. 

We don’t condone drinking on duty in ANY amount so the same applies 

to weed. And because it lingers in the system it’s easy to test for use 

even weeks after. You use weed, you’re out. 

Erra Jant: Best place to be in the kitchen stoned and surrounded by 

food lol 

Jillian Dawn : The big problem is that there is no accurate test to tell if 

you are intoxicated or not. Piss tests aren't reliable because THC stores 

itself in body fat, and when you start burning that fat it shows up in 

your blood stream. 

Patrick Buzzell : Well, well another dilemma for the Forces. What are 

Police Forces saying about their organization, Fire Fighters, Judges, 

Politicians, etc. Why has the "Think tank", of the Armed Forces always 

tried to be Mr Perfect, ideal citizen and put the men and women above 

normal citizens. By going that route many scams are devised to 

counterman the authorities both in the officers and in the ranks. What 

no alcoholic consumption for all in Afghanistan? I doubt that. If 

members of the Forces have to be better than the rest of the Country's 

citizens, I would like to know how come our Pensions are below our 

regular citizens and why is it so difficult to get a decent medical 

pension and assistance if Armed Forces Personnel are to be citizens 

above the rest? 

I look forward to reading any comments readers of SBT may have. 

To end this article with a bit of Humour that was around before Political 

Correctness. 

HALT..yelled the Drill Instructor. He had noticed that a recruit was 

turning LEFT when told to turn RIGHT, This had happened for a few 

drill commands. He went up to the recruit and stomped on his RIGHT 

Foot. Now he said when I call RIGHT TURN it will be the foot that is 

sore….. 

Nil Sine Labore 

Robby 


HAVE FAITH 

Choices and Blame 

Let’s start with Choices. I have to confess to being a bit of a 

movie buff. I have all of the movie sites on my PC, Netflix, Now 

TV, Sky Movies, you name it, I’ve got it. I have an extensive 

collection of DVD’s including many comedy box collections, war 

movies, action movies, musicals (Can’t believe I’ve just 

confessed to that one) plus lots of old classics. Yet, when it 

comes to watching a movie with my partner, it takes me an 

eternity to find something we both like. I think back some years 

ago when my dad bought his first VCR. He had just two or three 

films and five TV stations to watch but all of us would sit around 

the old box and have a good movie night. The trouble these 

days is, we have far too much choice. We please ourselves and 

make that decision on what we watch just by the way we feel 

and what we fancy. We have that choice. The choice we make 

may not be a good one but these days to rectify the mistake we 

just pick up the remote, press a button and the job is done. Not 

so easy in life. 

natural balance of the world by intervening. He has to let us, as 

individuals, make choices and stand by the consequences. That 

way we learn and improve ourselves. Even wars, started by 

men making choices. Not God. He cannot save us from 

worldly events, illnesses, violence and conflicts. It would be 

wrong for him to do that. But despite all of this it doesn’t means 

that he has walked away. He is still there for us to talk to, to lean 

on and to look after those that leave us. At times of pain, God is 

our comfort, not our blame object. Just something worth 

thinking about. 

Ecclesiastes 9:1-18 

Choices we make in life will have good and bad consequences, 

but we have to stand by the decisions we make and learn the 

lessons whether good or bad. This is because we are given the 

free will to make choices. Bear this fact in mind for later in the 

reflection. 

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and 

the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is 

love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the 

same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and 

the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the 

unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. 

As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he 

who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the 

sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the 

children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts 

while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is 

joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than 

a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead 

know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of 

them is forgotten. ... 

Now to blame. Have you ever blamed anyone for something 

that has happened only to find you were wrong? I have, on 

many occasions. But there is one form of blame that makes me 

very uncomfortable, unfortunately, I hear it over and over again. 

When someone loses a loved one or there is a violent attack or 

war I hear ‘There can’t be a God if he lets this happen’ or words 

to that effect. It is very easy to blame someone when we can’t 

explain what has happened. Our thoughts can get very 

confused and we tend to strike out at any avenue that is open. 

Unfortunately, God takes his fair share of the blame. 

I have realised that God has to allow nature to take its course 

even when events lead to major tragedies. He cannot upset the 


Radio 

Hi Folks, and welcome to Sandbag Times Radio New Year 

update! 

Hopefully by now, most of you have recovered from the 

festive season, and probably dealing with the flu/virus that 

is doing the rounds and incapacitating folks. Just make 

sure you heed your doctors advice, and get plenty of fluids, 

stay warm, and most of all tune into your very own 

Internet Radio Station "Sandbagtimes Radio". 

The latter part of the year took it's toll on the station, both 

from a bereavement aspect, with the loss of family members, 

and then the health aspect. We go into the new year 

with optimism, and a new drive and ambition to reach more 

folks, and bring more variety to our listeners. Over the 

coming weeks, we will be reshaping the schedule, and 

hopefully bringing you an eclectic mix of interviews, and 

podcasts to accompany you through your day. We aim to 

bring on board new DJ's to give a fresh and needed angle 

to the way we operate. We work in tandem with the magazine 

side of things, and hope to reflect and discuss the 

many topics that are found in the magazine. If you getting 

into the media side of things, then drop me a line. We want 

active and healthy debate and discussion, and I am sure 

there are many out there that have sat listening, and have 

an opinion/view on something they have read. well, lets 

have you on air, and claim your media place within the 

team. 

continue to strive to do this. We are still shaping our platform, 

and it will continue to evolve in line with your 

demands. Evening shows/podcasts are planned, in order 

to cover times when listeners have mentioned they would 

like something scheduled live in the latter parts of the day. 

You will notice this in the coming days and weeks. 

Your continued support of both the Magazine and the 

Radio Station is greatly appreciated. If you have any suggestions 

for how we can bring you a better more varied 

service, then please let us know. Email me At 

Jim@Sandbagtimes.com. Thank you, and spread the word! 

Until next month, keep tuning in, and stay safe wherever 

you are 

Jim Wilde 

As I always say, the radio can only work if we have the 

attention and interests of our listeners at heart, and we will 


TO ORDER PLEASE CALL: 01226 734222 

ORDER ONLINE: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk 

PEN AND SWORD BOOKS LTD 

47 CHURCH STREET BARNSLEY SOUTH YORKSHIRE S70 2AS

Armed Forces & 

Veterans breakfast Clubs 

www.afvbc.co.uk 

Website 

The VBC Website has now been revamped/redesigned and is now live. 

There are several new features including a Post Code search facility that 

brings up the five nearest Breakfast Clubs to your Post Code, and we now 

have a News feature and links to the current issues of the Sandbag Times 

and much more. To make it easier for people to get to it, funds have been 

made available to allow the acquisition of more domain names. 

The new address is www.afvbc.co.uk and the old address is pointed at the 

new site. 

The main alteration is that the email addresses have changed from: 

Support@VeteransBreakfastClubs.co.uk 

to 

Support@AFVBC.co.uk 

BFBS FORCES RADIO HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH... 

Former Magic breakfast co-host Verity Geere has joined Richard 

Hatch at BFBS Radio's Forces Breakfast Show, and they present the 

‘Hatch & Geere Breakfast Show’ 

They want to feature a different Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast 

Club each week... they want to speak to a member of the featured 

Breakfast Club on their show, have a little fun, and talk to the 

AFVBC member about what it means to them, and what happens 

there... 

It will be coordinated via Richard Massey and club Admins, but it 

doesn’t need to be an Admin who speaks... so please have a think 

about who you think is a ‘charismatic’ character.. who you think 

would be good!!! 

This should be fun!! 


Veterans Breakfast Clubs 

THE LEIGH ARMED FORCES AND VETERANS BREAKFAST CLUB'S 'GREAT CHRISTMAS GET 

TOGETHER' 

Veterans and serving members of the armed forces enjoyed a special Christmas breakfast yesterday, Saturday. 

Members of the Leigh Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club, who meet every Saturday from 10am to noon at The Thomas 

Burke Wetherspoons pub on Leigh Road, hosted their 'Great Christmas Get together' which gave past and present military 

workers the chance to see each other before the big day tomorrow, Monday. 

MP for Leigh Jo Platt and armed forces charity Shoulder 

to Soldier's founder Linda Fisher were also in attendance. 

Founded by ex-serviceman Ian Parkinson, the club allows 

armed forces personnel, veterans and their family 

members mutual support and offers the opportunity to 

socialise with people from similar backgrounds. 

Members have praised the weekly event as they share a 

similar sense of humour and outlook on life as well as 

reminding them of the social lives they used to enjoy 

during their service days. 

The event on Saturday was supported by charities 

Forever Manchester and The Jo Cox Foundation. 

SANDBAG TIMES AFVBC OFFER 

As many of you, in the AFVBC world may know, 

the Sandbag Times is now available as a 

printed edition. Unlike the online edition, we 

cannot offer the printed copies for free as we 

have to pay for expensive printing costs and 

obviously, the postage. However, we have done 

some number crunching and we are pleased to 

say we can send out packs of 5 magazines for 

£20.00. Unfortunately, we regret that we cannot 

send out single copies at this time, hopefully 

that will change in the near future as the SBT 

grows. The prints are of exellent and 

professional standard with 250gsm covers and 

130gsm pages with stunning colour and 

graphics. If you would like to order monthly 

magazines for your club or send in entries, then 

please email us at info@sandbagtimes.com 

This printed copy will be used to support the 

Tommy Atkins Veterans Centre in Worcester. 


Information 

A word from the Ed 

Happy New Year folks!! We do 

hope you’ve had a great Chrimbo 

and a nice relaxing time, We’re 

already for the up and coming 

year now suitably refreshed. 

Quite a bit on the agenda for the 

year including the season launch 

for our Patron, Matt and Team 

Dynamics. We will be doing a 

nice big editorial during March to 

mark the start complete with a 

forecast of all the races and where 

you can watch them. The SBT 

will be at quite a few of the races, 

ensuring you all get the up-to-theminute 

news on this years BTCC 

2018. We will be visiting many 

airshows, military shows etc, no 

doubt with a few tickets to give 

away in our competitions. We 

halso have a few serious agendas 

to cover too. Firstly, we will be 

supporting the families of the 

Deepcut Inquests as two inquests 

are about to be re-opened. We 

will also be getting involved with 

the ongoing issue of mental health 

for Veterans in the community. 

There are still far too many 

questions to be answered 

surrounding the amount of 

veterans that are suffering in our 

community and we will stay 

dedicated to finding the answers 

from those that should be giving 

them. We also have another few 

agendas that we are working on 

but we will stay quiet on them 

until we are in a position to go 

forward. A little bit of good news 

is that a bunch of us are going to 

play Para for a couple of days by 

hurling ourselves out of a plane 

and then doing the fandance. 

Really, at my age? To be honest, 

I’m not the eldest in the group. 

We are calling it the ‘Airborne 

Challenge’ and once we have 

sorted out a pilot thats crazy 

enough to take us up we will start 

the fundraising bandwagon. All 

funds raised will go to the Tommy 

Atkins Centre. Speaking of 

which, the girls are doing an 

outstanding job there at the 

moment. Big well done!! Px 

Ways to find us 

The Sandbag Times 

www.sandbagtimes.com 

thesandbagtimes 

@thesandbagtimes 

info@sandbagtimes.com 

“I remember when 

Pontoon bridges 

were made out of 

wood and metal” 

A Song For A Hero 

“The Brand New Rock Opera which tells the truth of what 

happens to our heroes when the killing ends. Packed with 

incredible songs, breathtaking graphics and an emotional 

rollercoaster of a story that will leave you asking 

questions for a long time to come.” 

Where Do They Go... 

...When the Killing Ends 


Information 

Arctic Convoys 

By Richard Woodman 

Black Hearted Rider 

Will Kileen 

OK folks, this is a very, very good slide 

guitarist. I’ve watched this guy live once or 

twice and am totally blown away by him. If 

you like blues music then this month’s 

selection is the one to listen to. 

During the last four years of the Second 

World War, the Western Allies secured 

Russian defences against Germany by 

supplying vital food and arms. The plight of 

those in Murmansk and Archangel who 

benefited is now well known, but few are 

aware of the courage, determination and 

sacrifice of Allied merchant ships, which 

withstood unremitting U-boat attacks and 

aerial bombardment to maintain the lifeline 

to Russia. In the storms, fog and numbing 

cold of the Arctic, where the sinking of a 

10,000 ton freighter was equal to a land 

battle in terms of destruction, the losses 

sustained were huge. Told from the 

perspective of their crews, this is the 

inspiring story of the long-suffering 

merchant ships without which Russia 

would almost certainly have fallen to Nazi 

Germany. 

Thank You For Your Service 

Haley Bennett 

Miles Teller 

Joe Cole 

Agroup of U.S. soldiers returning 

from Iraq struggle to integrate 

back into family and civilian 

life, while living with the memory of a 

war that threatens to destroy them long 

after they've left the battlefield. 

Back issues of The Sandbag Times are available to download here 

www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 19|

MRS Fox GoES To WAR 

Mrs Fox Goes 

To War... 

The Chronicles of Little Hope 

1939 - 1945 

Villager of the Month 

Mrs Fox’s Wartime Trivia: .. 

Meet Rt Reverend Aubrey Fishwick ... 

Harvest Festival was almost upon them and 

once again the vicar was having a preparatory 

tug in the vegetable patch... 

The Right Reverend Aubrey Fishwick had been the 

vicar of Little Hope for as long as anyone could 

remember. Village rumour had it that he was actually 

so old that he'd fought at Waterloo, although this 

nugget of information may have had its origins in an 

altercation with a porter on platform 3 of the station 

with the same name in 1932. Either way, nobody 

alive in 1939 had ever come across another vicar in 

St Candida's vestry and it was pretty much taken for 

granted that nobody ever would... 

With his trusty housekeeper Agapanthus Crumb and 

her spotted dick on hand to sustain him, Aubrey put 

his best foot forward and endeavoured to steer his 

faithful flock through the trials and tribulations of 

War, going as far as to ensure that the villagers tea 

supplies were not affected by rationing by stuffing 

forty-eight hassocks, five sofa cushions and a double 

mattress with contraband Darjeeling just before it all 

went tits up and supply lines were cut off. 

Ever faithful and trusty as they come, constantly polishing 

his bell clappers in anticipation of victory, 

Aubrey was definitely your man in a tight corner. 

Providing you had cake. Obviously. 

Did you know that during World War Two the 

British Government, deciding that – with us 

being British and all - we’d obviously need as 

much tea as we could possibly get our hands 

on to see us through and that consequently it 

splashed out and bought every last ounce of 

tea available on the world market? It is said 

that in 1942 the amount of tea purchased by 

the government outweighed purchased 

ammunition, literally. 

When Churchill said that tea was as important 

as ammunition, he wasn’t kidding! Troops and 

civilians supplied, the RAF went on to drop 

75,000 ‘tea bombs’ over the occupied 

Netherlands in a single night with the message 

‘The Netherlands Will Rise Again, Chin Up!’. 

The British Red Cross also made sure that 

every parcel sent to POW’s contained a quarter 

of a pound of tea. 


THE CHRoNICLES oF LITTLE HoPE 

Hilda Ffinch: 

The Bird With All The Answers 

Hilda Ffinch, Little Hope's very own Agony Aunt (page 5 

of the Little Hope Herald) was easily bored and terribly 

rich. She loved nothing better than taking on the problems 

of others and either sorting them out or claiming 

that she'd never heard of them if it all went tits up and 

they had to leave the district under cover of darkness 

having followed her sage advice. 

turns to the state of his lance. 

Colonel Ffinch regularly dips his bayonet into my Tigerclaw (a 

particularly sharp brand of vinegar which we imported regularly 

from the Chap Matahari Trading Post in Malacca Street, 

Singapore, before the war) but I fear that it is both exhausted 

and hard to come by these days, otherwise you’d be quite welcome 

to dunk yours in too. Might I suggest therefore that you 

thrust your dirty old weapon into a bucket of horse urine? The 

ammonia ought to get a reaction going in next to no time. It’ll 

come up a treat. Don’t let Mrs C endeavour to spit on it afterwards 

however as it may be closer than she thinks after a good 

seeing to and there’s every chance that she’ll have her eye out. 

Incidentally, the information you have received pertaining to 

whether or not jerry likes it up him is indeed correct, I can confirm(from 

personal experience during a particularly riotous 

Oktoberfest in Munich in 1928 when my box brownie went into 

overdrive ) that jerry most certainly does not like it up him and 

assuming the polar opposite has led to the downfall of many 

an unfortunate submariner. 

Yours, 

Hilda Ffinch 

The Bird With All The Answers 

Letter Of The Month 

This month’s plaintive cry for help was sent in by poor 

dear Charles, who is having terrible problems with his 

bayonet... 

If you’d like Hilda Ffinch, The Bird With All The Answers to 

address your own wartime problem, then pop along to 

https://www.mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk/hilda-finch-agony-aunt 

to subject your personal crisis to her (hopefully) sober 

scrutiny. Remember to give yourself a suitable wartime 

alias! Letters will be answered online and a selection of 

them published in next month’s Sandbag Times. 

Dear Hilda, 

If I may be so bold - I have a dirty bayonet and no matter 

how much I rub it I cannot get the blessed thing to 

shine, even my good old wife has tried by spitting on it 

and then getting a bit of muslin and rubbing vigorously, 

without success! 

I’ve heard the jerries don’t like it up ‘em. 

Please advise. 

Yours, most respectfully 

Charles 

Dear Charles, 

I do sympathise with your problem and would like to assure 

you that you are not the only fellow afflicted by this plight in 

wartime. 

It is common knowledge that when all is peaceful and rosy in 

the garden a fellow is wont to take his weapon for granted 

and often neglects to give the entire shaft a thorough rinse 

with a good sharp vinegar at least once a week in order to 

keep it in tip top condition, indeed, it is often only when the 

Hun starts trying to kick a fellow’s back door in that his mind 

Caption Competition 

December’s Photo Caption Winner: Many thanks to all who 

entered, some very funny captions indeed and it wasn’t easy 

picking a winner! However, finally, congratulations to Nick 

Stanley! @NickStanley3 for this corker 

“Whilst fully behind the plan to 

hang out one’s washing on the 

Siegfried Line, Violet always 

reserved somewhere warmer and 

closer to home for the village 

bunting .....” 

January’s Caption Competition: Violet Millington and Mrs 

Fox... 

The winning caption 

will be published in next 

month’s Sandbag Times 

and also on the Mrs Fox 

Goes To War website. 

To enter, please go to 

https://www.mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk 

and e- 

mail us or tweet us 

@thesandbagtimes ! 

And finally: A Very Happy New Year from Mrs Fox and the 

villagers of Little Hope! May 2018 be Your Year! 

You can catch more of Mrs Fox and Friends at www.mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk 

or on Twitter @mrslaviniafox 


Poetry Corner 

Poetry Corner 

Prisoner 

I 

Through My Eyes 

You don’t know me or what I’ve done 

You don’t care where I’m from 

So I have a question for you 

Why do you judge me the way you do 

I wonder what it is you see 

Every day as you pass by me 

What’s on your mind, and in your head? 

Looking at me on my cardboard bed 

All I have left in this world is here 

But all you see are the cans of beer 

You try not to look, or stare 

But I see your eyes, I see the glare 

The disgust, I see it in your face 

As if it’s me that’s a disgrace 

But if you knew what I’d done 

That look might be a different one 

You go to work all clean and shaved 

On a street of gold that’s nicely paved 

But you have sent me off to fight 

Without a care for my future plight 

The drugs and beer, the homelessness 

The dishevelled look and the tiredness 

None of that is a choice I’ve made 

I was a soldier of the highest grade 

You don’t see that, you don’t care 

Why should you, life isn’t fair 

I don’t want pity, especially yours 

But spare a thought for those of us that fight your wars 

By 

Brian Chenier 

Redcap Funeral 

I went to the funeral of a colleague the other day 

Went to the place where brave soldiers lay 

As I stood with friends in grief 

The sight was one that beggared belief 

A coffin draped in the union flag 

Chests full of medals, not a time to brag 

Red caps abound under arms 

The sight of the scarlet and all its charms 

Men and women with tears in eyes 

A time for truth, not a time for lies 

We are so proud of those that died 

But what a waste of life we cried 

As I stand and watch the proceedings 

I find it hard to hide my feelings 

I am angry, upset and very sad 

What has happened has made me mad 

But through all of this 

There is a feeling that I cannot hide 

And that’s a sense of immense pride 

So day to day I do my duty 

But not for queen or country 

I do it out of a soldier’s pride 

For those who went before and died. 

of my Mind 

I've been locked up, my freedom is gone 

The windows have bars, the doors are all locked 

But that's not what causes my pain 

I'm a prisoner in my mind 

I'm the one to blame 

The thoughts that hurt me 

And the feelings that haunt me 

They're mine and I own them 

Questions go un-answered, but how? 

My suffering continues, I need a release 

And I need it NOW 

How do I unlock those doors? 

How can I remove the bars? 

It's really quite simple, I have the answer 

I own my thoughts, I am their master 

Taking charge is what is needed 

And today that's what I'll do 

I can control my thoughts, 

Accept my feelings to release the bind 

Accept my reality, no longer a prisoner in my mind 

I am free, I have my release 

I have liberty to think beyond the bars 

My thoughts no longer go unchallenged 

No longer the prisoner I used to be, 

I am the master of my own mind 

Today I start my new reality. 

By Brian Chenier 

Win This Fantastic Title 

This unusual and beautiful book collects 

together twenty five of the often read, wellloved 

poets. Each poet is illustrated with an 

original watercolor portrait by the talented 

young artist, Charlotte Zeepvat, who 

reproduces in pleasing script one of their 

works, giving a biographical summary that 

placed the poet firmly in the battlefield 

context in which their work was conceived. 

To have a chance at winning this 

fabulous book, simply email your 

poetry to: 

jane@sandbagtimes.com 

By Brian Chenier

The Sandbag Times Issue No: 39

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