The Sandbag Times Issue No: 45
The Veterans Magazine
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<strong>The</strong> Veterans’ Magazine <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>45</strong> | July 2018<br />
<strong>The</strong> Union Jack Club<br />
<strong>The</strong> UK’s Premier Armed Forces Club<br />
SBT News Update<br />
Plus all <strong>The</strong> Latest National & International<br />
News from the Armed Forces & Veterans’ World<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk<br />
Supporting #OP-WAMITS
IBCC<br />
Julie Warrington aka<br />
SBT’s Mrs Fox<br />
takes a trip into<br />
Bomber County<br />
Page 26<br />
<strong>The</strong> Veterans’ Magazine <strong>Issue</strong> <strong>45</strong> | July 2018<br />
<strong>The</strong> Union Jack Club<br />
<strong>The</strong> UK’s Premier Armed Forces Club<br />
SBT News Update<br />
Plus all <strong>The</strong> Latest National & International<br />
News from the Armed Forces & Veterans’ World<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk<br />
Supporting #OP-WAMITS<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> <strong>45</strong><br />
CONTENTS<br />
SBT News<br />
4 Veteran Missing<br />
Police release second photo<br />
of Robert Mason<br />
5 Para’s In NI Witch Hunt<br />
Hundreds of soldiers called<br />
to give evidence<br />
5 More Russian Ships<br />
Tracked off coast<br />
Royal Navy called to track<br />
Russian Warships again<br />
6 Dame Vera Lynn Calls for<br />
Website Block<br />
Dame Vera asks to be<br />
removed from website<br />
Features<br />
16 Veterans Raffle<br />
Chris introduces us to the<br />
new Veterans Raffle<br />
20 Union Jack Club<br />
A look into the premiere<br />
Armed Forces Club in<br />
London<br />
26 Bomber County<br />
Julie’s visit to the<br />
International Bomber<br />
Command Centre<br />
Regular<br />
9 Historic Tommy Atkins<br />
<strong>The</strong> Beginning of the end<br />
23 Have Faith<br />
Walk a mile in my shoes...<br />
32 SBT Information<br />
A page dedicated to back<br />
issues, information, book<br />
reviews etc<br />
34 Mrs Fox Goes To War<br />
All the latest gossip and<br />
letters from Little Hope<br />
Editor: Pablo Snow<br />
Magazine Manager: Matt Jarvis<br />
Patron: Matt Neal<br />
Honourary Patron:<br />
Jacqueline Hurley<br />
Additional editors:<br />
Albert ‘Robbie’ McRobb<br />
Jane Shields<br />
Peter Macey<br />
Mike Woods<br />
News Media Manager<br />
Jim Wilde<br />
Recording Engineer and PR<br />
Manager<br />
Vince Ballard<br />
Email: info@sandbagtimes.com<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
NEWS<br />
THE VETERANS’ MAGAZINE<br />
SBT NEWS July Edition info@sandbagtimes.com<br />
MISSING VETERAN: POLICE REVEAL<br />
NEW PICTURE OF ROBERT MASON<br />
Police, this week released a second photo of<br />
missing veteran, Robert Mason who went missing<br />
from his place of work over two weeks ago.<br />
Robert, 38 went missing shortly after arriving at<br />
work on 11th June at approximately 0930hrs.<br />
Police said that he left his car and mobile phone<br />
at work and left with just a day sack.<br />
Police, friends and fellow veterans have joined in<br />
the search for Robert but despite intensive<br />
searching and various leads from the public<br />
there has been no trace of him.<br />
Robert was believed to have been wearing a dark<br />
fleece, dark trousers and carrying a rucksack<br />
when he went missing.<br />
He has been described as white, 5ft 8in tall, slim,<br />
with dark hair and brown eyes.<br />
Anyone who sees Robert or has any information<br />
on his whereabouts is asked to call Warwickshire<br />
Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously<br />
on 0800 555 111 or visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org<br />
| 4 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
NEWS<br />
THE VETERANS’ MAGAZINE<br />
SBT NEWS July Edition info@sandbagtimes.com<br />
Royal Navy intercepts More Russian Warships<br />
<strong>The</strong> Royal Navy's HMS<br />
Montrose intercepted the<br />
ships after shadowing them<br />
in the <strong>No</strong>rth Sea.<br />
This is the latest incident of<br />
Russian vessels entering<br />
Britsh waters as tensions have<br />
risen between Moscow and<br />
the West, Commander Conor<br />
O'Neill, Montrose's<br />
Commanding Officer, said:<br />
"Royal Navy warships are<br />
always prepared to respond to<br />
tasking at short notice, so<br />
when the call came, Montrose<br />
was ready for action. “<strong>The</strong><br />
Royal Navy and Royal Air<br />
Force, with the support of our<br />
Hundreds of former paratroopers<br />
have been asked<br />
to give evidence at a highprofile<br />
inquest into a shooting<br />
incident during<br />
<strong>No</strong>rthern Ireland’s Troubles<br />
more than 40 years ago –<br />
despite the Prime Minister<br />
pledging to end the “witchhunt”.<br />
<strong>No</strong>rthern Ireland’s<br />
coroners service has written<br />
to ex-members of the<br />
Parachute Regiment and<br />
the then Queen’s<br />
Regiment about the 11<br />
deaths in Ballymurphy in<br />
August 1971. It has invited<br />
NATO allies, constantly<br />
monitor the seas and skies<br />
around the UK, and our<br />
operations are part of that 24/7<br />
watch to ensure the UK stays<br />
safe and secure.” A statement<br />
from the Royal Navy said:<br />
“HMS Montrose worked<br />
alongside the Maritime and<br />
Coastguard Agency to track<br />
the two vessels as they<br />
manoeuvred in some of the<br />
most congested waters in the<br />
world. “Montrose met the<br />
pair both Steregushchiy-class<br />
corvettes and monitored their<br />
progress off the Danish and<br />
Dutch coasts“After crossing<br />
Ex-Paratroopers Hit By New Witch Hunt<br />
A British army sergeant who<br />
sabotaged his wife’s<br />
parachute, causing her to<br />
plunge 4,000 feet to the<br />
ground after jumping from a<br />
plane, was jailed for life for<br />
trying to murder her. Victoria<br />
Cilliers, 41, suffered severe<br />
injuries to her spine, broke<br />
her leg, collarbone and ribs<br />
and only survived because<br />
she landed in a newly<br />
soldiers to come forward<br />
as witnesses at the inquest<br />
on September 10. <strong>The</strong><br />
Belfast coroner has also<br />
written to the Provost<br />
Marshal’s office – the head<br />
of the military police – asking<br />
for any records on the<br />
incident. In 1971, what<br />
was then the Royal Ulster<br />
Constabulary had come<br />
under sustained sniper<br />
attack and senior officers<br />
feared republican leaders<br />
in west Belfast were about<br />
to seal off Ballymurphy and<br />
make it a “no-go area”, as<br />
the bulk of the <strong>No</strong>rth Sea, the<br />
corvettes dramatically cut<br />
their speed and slowly<br />
proceeded towards the north<br />
<strong>No</strong>rfolk coast under the<br />
watchful eyes of the British<br />
frigate at the end of last<br />
week.” Leading Seaman Jack<br />
Shanley said: “I’ve been in the<br />
Royal Navy for four and a half<br />
years and this type of<br />
operation is exactly what I<br />
joined for.” Last month, the<br />
Royal Navy used destroyer<br />
HMS Diamond and a Wildcat<br />
helicopter to monitor a<br />
Russian spy ship close to the<br />
coast of Britain. More here...<br />
Life Sentence For UK Soldier For Wife Parachute Sabotage<br />
ploughed field, a court heard.<br />
Her husband Emile Cilliers,<br />
38, who had denied<br />
attempted murder, will have<br />
to serve at least 18 years in<br />
jail. Winchester Crown<br />
Court heard that, knowing his<br />
wife was planning a skydive,<br />
Cilliers had sabotaged her<br />
parachute in an airfield toilet<br />
cubicle in Netheravon. Lines<br />
to the main canopy were<br />
the IRA had done in<br />
Londonderry’s Bogside.<br />
Soldiers from both regiments<br />
moved into the<br />
republican stronghold on<br />
August 9 and came under<br />
heavy fire as they<br />
launched Operation<br />
Demetrius, a mission that<br />
was planned and directed<br />
by the RUC, now the<br />
Police Service of <strong>No</strong>rthern<br />
Ireland. Over August 9, 10<br />
and 11, a total of 11 people<br />
were killed including a local<br />
priest, Father Hugh Mullan,<br />
40. Read more here...<br />
twisted and parts were<br />
missing from the reserve,<br />
stopping the chute from<br />
opening when she jumped<br />
from the plane in April 2015.<br />
Police said that Cilliers’<br />
motive had been to obtain an<br />
insurance payout on his<br />
wife’s death, which would<br />
have allowed him to start a<br />
new life with his lover. Read<br />
more on this story here...<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 5 |
NEWS<br />
THE VETERANS’ MAGAZINE<br />
SBT NEWS July Edition info@sandbagtimes.com<br />
Dame Vera Lynn Demands Removal Of<br />
Her Name From ‘Disrespectful’ Website<br />
Dame Vera Lynn has<br />
broken ties with a 75th<br />
anniversary D-Day<br />
concert after its organisers<br />
were accused of ‘dancing<br />
on the graves of the dead’.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Forces’ Sweetheart,<br />
101, asked for her name to<br />
be removed from the<br />
website for the event after<br />
veterans and their families<br />
slammed the event as<br />
‘disrespectful’. Due to<br />
take place on June 6 next<br />
year, the Liberty Concert<br />
will take over Sword<br />
Beach in <strong>No</strong>rmandy with<br />
the aim of ‘stimulating<br />
people to stand up again<br />
for peace and freedom’.<br />
After hearing the plans for<br />
the concert, veterans set<br />
up a petition to have the<br />
event moved to a ‘more<br />
sensible location’ which<br />
has gained more than<br />
1,000 signatures. <strong>The</strong><br />
petition reads: ‘<strong>The</strong>y will<br />
be partying on the very<br />
ground that hundreds of<br />
men lost their lives 75<br />
years before fighting for<br />
our freedom, where<br />
families have scattered<br />
ashes of loved ones who<br />
fought on that beach, and<br />
where returning veterans<br />
want to go but will be<br />
unable to. 'An additional<br />
75,000 people in an<br />
already very busy area<br />
will become a liability.<br />
'Let them have their<br />
concert, but NOT on any<br />
of the beaches in<br />
<strong>No</strong>rmandy and preferably<br />
NOT on the June 6, 2019.<br />
Read more here...'<br />
British Veterans Feel 'Undervalued'<br />
And Hide Military Service To Get A Job<br />
Britains veterans feel<br />
“undervalued” and many hide<br />
their military service to get a job,<br />
a detailed survey revealed<br />
yesterday. It contrasted the<br />
enormous affection shown for<br />
old soldiers of the Second World<br />
War with the indifference often<br />
shown to younger veterans of<br />
more recent conflicts such as Iraq<br />
and Afghanistan. <strong>The</strong> survey by<br />
the SSAFA military charity<br />
painted an overwhelmingly bleak<br />
picture of how former<br />
servicemen and women feel they<br />
are viewed by the wider public.<br />
<strong>The</strong> survey of 1,000 veterans, all<br />
of whom have been helped by<br />
SSAFA, found that 81 per cent<br />
thought US veterans were more<br />
respected than those in the UK,<br />
75 per cent felt they were not as<br />
respected as the emergency<br />
services and 89 per cent said<br />
civilians do not understand their<br />
needs. Alarmingly, 70 per cent<br />
said employers did not properly<br />
value their skills or abilities with<br />
some choosing to leave their<br />
military careers off their CVs.<br />
Invictus Games Racing Takes <strong>The</strong><br />
Fight To <strong>The</strong> Track in British GT<br />
Inspiration comes from a<br />
variety of sources globally,<br />
as a new team will enter the<br />
2018 British GT<br />
championship this year in<br />
the GT4 category for 2018,<br />
as a selected crack troop of<br />
injured veterans will make<br />
up the newly created<br />
Invictus Games Racing<br />
outfit. Created through a<br />
mutual collaboration<br />
between the Superdry<br />
clothing brand and the<br />
Invictus Games Federation,<br />
it sees the culmination of a<br />
year’s worth of<br />
development, with Superdry<br />
Co-Founder James Holder<br />
having commissioned two F-<br />
Type SVRs to built to<br />
compete under the current<br />
regulations. Holder himself<br />
has also competed in the<br />
Championship in 2016,<br />
having partnered with<br />
Matthew George in the #44<br />
Generation<br />
AMR<br />
SuperRacing Aston Martin<br />
Vantage GT4 for a single<br />
round, and was inspired to<br />
make the partnership<br />
happen, having watched the<br />
Invictus Games in Orlando.<br />
MoreHaving funded the<br />
project himself, along with<br />
the design and development<br />
of the cars, it will help to<br />
promote future opportunities<br />
for other WIS (wounded,<br />
sick or injured) servicemen<br />
and women the chance to<br />
experience full throttle<br />
motorsport head-on. More..<br />
| 6 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
TWO friends will trek through the Western<br />
Front this year to mark 100 years since the<br />
end of the First World War.<br />
David Parkinson, of Over Wallop, and<br />
George Ashworth, of Charlton-All-Saints<br />
will be walking through battlefield sites in<br />
France and Belgium to raise money for the<br />
Royal British Legion. <strong>The</strong> pair were<br />
inspired to make the trip after attending a<br />
rugby match in Twickenham last<br />
Remembrance Day. George said: “I’ll be<br />
40 this year and I was looking for something<br />
to do that was a bit of a challenge.<br />
When David mentioned the walk I thought,<br />
‘it’s worthwhile and a chance to go and<br />
see it all’. I think everyone should go to<br />
see it.” David agreed, adding: “It should<br />
be the national curriculum that everybody<br />
goes to get an idea about the sacrifices<br />
those men made.” <strong>The</strong> trip will be<br />
poignant for both men, who will be walking<br />
with a group of about 30 people from<br />
across the UK. “I had three great-grandfathers<br />
who survived the First World War,<br />
and it’s something I’ve always held close<br />
to my heart,” David said. And for George<br />
it has sparked an interest in his family history.<br />
He said: “Both of my grandfathers<br />
served in the Second World War. This<br />
might be an opportunity to find out more,<br />
because I know I have got great-grandparents<br />
who did serve in the First World War,<br />
but I don’t know where.” <strong>The</strong> pair will lay<br />
a wreath at Thiepval’s Memorial to the<br />
Missing of the Somme, on behalf of<br />
Salisbury residents, which will be a tribute<br />
to soldiers who died in all conflicts. David<br />
and George are set to start their training<br />
schedule at the end of the month, ahead<br />
NEWS<br />
Pair To Trek Western Front In Memory Of Fallen Soldiers<br />
of the trip in September, where they will<br />
walk about 13 miles per day for four days.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y have currently raised just under £600<br />
for the Royal British Legion, but hope to<br />
reach a total of £3,000. George said: “It<br />
would be nice to have a bit of support<br />
from the people of Salisbury. Any donations<br />
are gratefully received.” Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/david-parkinson27<br />
Are you:<br />
A Service Veteran?<br />
Aged 65 or over?<br />
A family member or carer<br />
of the above?<br />
If so, you could bene 昀 t from the<br />
support of a DMWS Welfare O cer<br />
We are experts in the provision of Medical Welfare and have supported the<br />
Armed Forces Community during medical treatment since 1943<br />
We are here to help, contact your local Welfare O<br />
cer today:<br />
A Guide to Medical Welfare Services<br />
for Health Care Professionals, Organisations<br />
and Support Workers<br />
Caring For Those Who Serve – Frontline To Recovery<br />
www.dmws.org.uk<br />
Supported by the Aged Veterans Fund<br />
funded by the Chancellor using LIBOR Funds.<br />
DMWS Registered Charity number:<br />
England: 1087210 | Scotland: SCO<strong>45</strong>460<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 7 |
SBT NEWSDESK<br />
With Jim Wilde<br />
Greetings folks, It has been<br />
almost 2 months since we<br />
started the Daily News<br />
Updates by way of podcasts,<br />
and they seem to have taken off<br />
really well. <strong>The</strong> feedback has<br />
been very positive, and the listening/<br />
viewing figures have reflected that, and<br />
have continued to rise. Our focus is to bring<br />
you the latest news, as and when it happens,<br />
and in multiple formats to enable everyone to<br />
share the content whether it be on PC, Mac,<br />
Mobile or Tablet.<br />
We are happy that this is now a stable platform,<br />
and is responsive, and not processor<br />
hungry. <strong>The</strong> next move, is to couple the<br />
audio submissions with a Video News<br />
Update, with discussion topics, which will<br />
involve you, the reader/listener. <strong>The</strong>re are<br />
many Veterans and Military sites on the web,<br />
all doing what they can to keep the issues<br />
that matter in the public eye. Because of the<br />
widespread nature of these sites, our target<br />
is to bring all these sites together in a United<br />
Veterans Forum, and share the load and<br />
information. By doing this, posts like Missing<br />
Veterans, and Suicide Awareness, will be circulated<br />
much more expediently, and hitting a<br />
wider audience, therefore having a better<br />
chance of success.<br />
Over the next few weeks, we will be working<br />
with the various Admins on these sites with a<br />
view to centralising and pooling our<br />
resources to enable a more effective distribution<br />
of information. In order to do this, we<br />
will, of course, require your help by way of<br />
feedback, and suggestions that can benefit<br />
us all. If there is anything you think that can<br />
be changed/modified to better the system,<br />
then please contact us on the emails given<br />
below.<br />
As always, you continued support is very<br />
important to us, therefore, if you have any<br />
news stories, pictures etc that you think are<br />
worthy of inclusion, make sure you get them<br />
to us as quick as you can. You can do that<br />
by contacting any one of us here at the magazine.<br />
Pablo@<strong>Sandbag</strong>times.com,<br />
Jane@<strong>Sandbag</strong>times.com,<br />
Jim@<strong>Sandbag</strong>times.com, or to the general<br />
account - info@<strong>Sandbag</strong>times.com.<br />
Thank you as always, and we look forward to<br />
hearing from you soon.<br />
Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile<br />
| 8 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
<strong>The</strong> Historical Tommy Atkins<br />
<strong>The</strong> Beginning<br />
of <strong>The</strong> End<br />
Written By Peter Macey<br />
July 1918 was famous for a number of worthy<br />
news items but also two major world changing<br />
events. Although at the time they might have<br />
gone unnoticed and certainly one was kept a<br />
deep dark secret for many years, the truth of<br />
which was only discovered in the 1980s, some<br />
70 years on from what happened, they were<br />
nonetheless world changing.<br />
On 15th July the German Army started an<br />
offensive on the Western Front near to the<br />
River Marne in France. What would become<br />
known as the Second Battle of the Marne<br />
would prove to be the last offensive by the<br />
Germans and unbeknown to anyone at the start<br />
of the battle would prove to turn the war in the<br />
Allies favour, and the Great War would finish<br />
just over three months later.<br />
On the morning of 15th July twenty three<br />
German divisions assaulted the French<br />
positions near to the Marne. This was a rash<br />
attempt to make an impact without the<br />
realisation that the French Army, due to the<br />
attachment of the American 42nd Division<br />
now heavily outnumbered the German front in<br />
every capacity of manpower, tanks and<br />
artillery. <strong>The</strong> hope of the advancing Germans<br />
was to split the French Army into two parts<br />
and counter each in turn. East of Reims the<br />
French Fourth Army had prepared a defence<br />
in-depth to counter any bombardment and<br />
infiltrating infantry. <strong>The</strong>ir main line of<br />
resistance was around two miles behind the<br />
front and beyond the range of the enemy field<br />
guns. <strong>The</strong> French gun line behind the front<br />
was lightly manned, but the remaining guns<br />
fired frequently, so the Germans did not detect<br />
its weakness from rate of firing although aerial<br />
intelligence told them otherwise but was<br />
ignored. But the counter-intelligence gained by<br />
the French was not ignored and so when the<br />
attack came, the French and American armies<br />
were well prepared for any ‘surprise’ attack.<br />
<strong>The</strong> German bombardment was scheduled for<br />
12:10. <strong>The</strong> French opened fire on the German<br />
assault trenches at 11:30. When the Germans<br />
finally opened fire they pounded the almost<br />
empty French front line. <strong>The</strong> attackers moved<br />
easily through the French front line but this<br />
advance meant the infantry moving far more<br />
quickly than the support armour and artillery.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were ordered to stop and rest while the<br />
other parts of the attack played catch up.<br />
Early the following day the Germans were<br />
stopped by accurate fire by the bulk of the<br />
French artillery. <strong>The</strong>y tried to advance again at<br />
noon, but failed.<br />
Meanwhile in the west on the south bank of<br />
the Marne the Americans had to hold the river<br />
bank by enduring an intense three hour<br />
bombardment, including many gas shells.<br />
Under this cover Germans stormtroopers<br />
swarmed across the river in every sort of<br />
transport—including canvas boats and rafts.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y erected skeleton bridges at 12 points<br />
under fire from the Allied survivors. Some<br />
Allied units, held fast or counter-attacked, but<br />
by evening, the Germans had captured a<br />
bridgehead 4 miles deep and 9 miles wide.<br />
Despite the aerial intervention of 225 French<br />
bombers, dropping 40 tons of bombs on the<br />
makeshift bridges, the German commander on<br />
the ground, Ludendorff regarded their advance<br />
as “the very pinnacle of military victory”.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n the French were reinforced by the British<br />
XXII Corps and 85,000 American troops. <strong>The</strong><br />
German advance stalled completely, two days<br />
after it had started.<br />
<strong>The</strong> German failure to break through allowed<br />
Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander to<br />
proceed with the planned major counteroffensive<br />
which started on 18th July. Some<br />
twenty four French divisions, and two US<br />
divisions under French command, joined by<br />
other Allied troops, including eight large<br />
American divisions and 350 tanks attacked the<br />
recently formed German stronghold.<br />
This was the beginning of the end.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Germans ordered a retreat on 20 July and<br />
were forced back to the positions from which<br />
they had started their Spring Offensives.<br />
On 1st August, French and British divisions<br />
renewed their attack, advancing to a depth of<br />
nearly 5 miles. <strong>The</strong> Allied counter-attack came<br />
to a halt out on 6th August in the face of the<br />
German defences. But by this stage the<br />
German stronghold had been reduced and the<br />
Armies forced back by 28 miles. <strong>The</strong> German<br />
defeat marked the start of almost unstoppable<br />
advance by the Allies which culminated in the<br />
Armistice around 100 days later.<br />
In early July in Russia, the allies were<br />
supporting the White Russians who were still<br />
defending the Eastern Front. <strong>The</strong> Bolsheviks<br />
who now formed the Government within<br />
Russia had withdrawn from the War to<br />
concentrate on creating a communist state.<br />
But the contingent of non conforming<br />
Russians were still fighting for freedom and<br />
now supported by the allies in their attempts to<br />
defend their homeland although most of the<br />
German divisions had been moved from the<br />
East to attack the Western Front.<br />
But there would be a final act or authority by<br />
the Bolsheviks, under the command of Lenin,<br />
who had come to power following the<br />
revolution in October the year before, the<br />
former leader of all of Russia. In the early<br />
hours of the morning of 17th July the Tzar<br />
Nicholas II and his entire family, including his<br />
wife Alexandra and their five children; Olga,<br />
Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia and Alexie, were<br />
executed in the basement of Ipatiev House in<br />
Yekaterinburg, where they had been held<br />
prisoner for some months.<br />
<strong>The</strong> deaths of the former Royal family which<br />
marked the end of the Romanov dynasty was<br />
believed to have been carried out following a<br />
direct order from Lenin. <strong>The</strong> deaths were<br />
denied by the Bolshevik Government until<br />
1926 when it was suggested they had been<br />
killed by elements of the White Russians or<br />
left wing.<br />
<strong>The</strong> burial ground of the family was<br />
discovered by an amateur sleuth in 1979. In<br />
1981 the whole family were canonized as<br />
Saints and declared Martyrs and Passion<br />
Bearers by the Russian Orthadox Church<br />
Abroad.<br />
<strong>The</strong> site of their execution is now beneath the<br />
altar of the Church On Blood.<br />
Were your relatives involved in the Second<br />
Battle of Marne? If so we would like to hear<br />
from you. Please write into SBT or contact us<br />
at Forgotten Veterans UK (FVUK).<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 9 |
<strong>The</strong> RWD Subaru’s of Sutton and Subaru that<br />
have spent the main part of this season qualifying<br />
at the back, locked out the front row –<br />
closely trailed by Andy Jordan in the RWD<br />
BMW. We struggled to find the right set up in<br />
qualifying, and subsequently placed lowly in<br />
P15 & P19 for Matt and Dan respectively. <strong>The</strong><br />
lads threw the kitchen sink at the cars<br />
overnight with a setup overhaul, aiming to hit<br />
the ground running in race 1.<br />
Round Five: Croft<br />
A Tough Weekend Under <strong>The</strong> Yorkshire Sunshine<br />
Brings <strong>The</strong> BTCC 2018 Season To <strong>The</strong> Summer Break.<br />
<strong>The</strong> gamble paid off on Matt’s car and he<br />
managed to fight his way up to P9 in the first<br />
race, a great result considering it’s not the<br />
easiest track to over taken on given its unforgiving<br />
nature – and any moves have got to<br />
be made with real assurance that they can be<br />
executed successfully. <strong>The</strong> set up changes<br />
didn’t gel on Dan’s car and he fell back to<br />
P19 at the chequered flag.<br />
Race Report: Ben Durrell<br />
<strong>The</strong> BTCC summer break is here, that’s our<br />
trip to the <strong>No</strong>rth of Yorkshire done for another<br />
12 months.<br />
We knew we’d have nothing handed to us<br />
this weekend, it’s a notoriously rear wheel<br />
drive track and we got shown that once again<br />
at the first opportunity in qualifying.<br />
Matt got up to 8th early on in race 2, only to<br />
be forced to the gravel by Dan Lloyd – dropping<br />
him down to P11. He fought well on the<br />
prime tyre to get back into P7 when the flag<br />
waved, 4 places ahead of Dan who made up<br />
8 places to finish P11. A favourable reverse<br />
grid draw for Matt saw him line up P3 for race<br />
3, with Dan in P12.<br />
Race 3 saw Ash Sutton pass Matt on Lap 9,<br />
only for him to retake the place at Clairvaux –<br />
Photo: Jakob Ebrey<br />
| 10 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
OFF THE GRID<br />
out braking him down the inside and forcing him to take to<br />
the gravel. He held off the aptly-named ‘King of Croft’ Colin<br />
Turkington for the remainder of the race, in doing so securing<br />
a third top ten finish of the day for him and vital championship<br />
points. Dan ended the day on a higher note, breaking into the<br />
top 10 and extending his lead atop the Jack Sears Trophy<br />
standings to 25 points.<br />
DC: ‘I think I did the best job I could over the weekend, but<br />
Matt’s greater experience definitely told. Race two was solid,<br />
but we didn’t really have the pace on the hard tyre in race<br />
three. Although the results perhaps don’t show it, I honestly<br />
don’t think there’s a lot more I could have done. This championship<br />
is tough, but as a driver, I’m learning and improving all<br />
the time and that’s the main goal.”<br />
We’ve now got 5 weeks until our next outing at Snetterton for<br />
the BTCC’s 60th anniversary celebrations, during which time<br />
we’re heading there for a tyre test where we’ll conduct some<br />
valuable testing ahead of the second half of the campaign.<br />
Matt’s now up into third in the championship, you can view<br />
the standings here -- http://www.btcc.net/standings/drivers/<br />
Matt Neal On Croft<br />
Photo: Jakob Ebrey<br />
“We really had to fight for every single point there, and my car<br />
ended up looking a bit battered and bruised. I think all the<br />
Hondas suffered, and Croft is normally a track that suits us.<br />
We know there was some boost equalisation going on, so<br />
that likely had a bearing on the weekend. We lacked speed in<br />
qualifying, but we came through well to crack the top ten in<br />
race one and we could have finished a fair way further up the<br />
order in race two – the Civic Type R felt really strong on the<br />
harder tyre – but for the contact. I think Dan [Lloyd] could<br />
have given me a bit more room, but it is what it is. It would<br />
have been nice to finish on the podium in race three; ultimately,<br />
we didn’t quite have enough but fourth was still a very solid<br />
result and we scored good points across the weekend<br />
towards the Drivers’, Manufacturers’ and Teams’ championships,<br />
which is a positive way to go into the summer<br />
break.”<br />
Dan Cammish on Croft<br />
“It was certainly an uphill struggle! I arrived here having never<br />
driven a front wheel-drive car round Croft before and with not<br />
a lot of time to adapt during free practice. We definitely<br />
missed a trick this weekend. We were nowhere in qualifying,<br />
so we changed the set-up massively for race one but that only<br />
made things worse. Fortunately, Matt went in the other direction<br />
and it worked for him so we copied that and from then<br />
on, things picked up. I think I did the best job I could over the<br />
weekend, but Matt’s greater experience definitely told. Race<br />
two was solid, but we didn’t really have the pace on the hard<br />
tyre in race three. Although the results perhaps don’t show it,<br />
I honestly don’t think there’s a lot more I could have done.<br />
This championship is tough, but as a driver, I’m learning and<br />
improving all the time and that’s the main goal.”<br />
Pabs On Croft: Questions & Answers<br />
Another lovely Sunday sat on my backside in front of the<br />
goggle box. I must admit, after soaking up the last few<br />
races from trackside, I felt robbed of the atmosphere and<br />
excitement. Well, at least I did until the programme on TV<br />
started then I was immersed. But there is nothing like being<br />
there and I definitely missed it.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was no doubt that this was a rear wheel drive track<br />
with strong performances from the Subaru (much to my<br />
annoyance) and BMW’s. Don’t get me wrong, young Ash<br />
Sutton conducts himself aggressively on the track as he<br />
should do but always acts the gentlemen in front of the<br />
cameras after. Anyone who saw the post qualifying interview<br />
knows what I mean. All I will say, there’s a time and a<br />
place if you must use coarse language and I question<br />
whether 4pm on a Saturday afternoon was the place.<br />
Enough moaning from me, Although Honda was clearly<br />
playing catch up on Sunday, I truly believe our two lads<br />
could not have done much more. Matt’s experience really<br />
showed with a great display of very mature driving. We<br />
have to consider his position in the table when he started at<br />
Croft to his position when he left. A brilliant 3rd place! Well<br />
set for part 2 of the season to challenge for a 4th title.<br />
As for Dan, I have said it before and I’ll say it again, he’s<br />
fast. Damn fast and worrying many front runners. Give him<br />
the tools on the right circuit and his first win is within his<br />
grasp. He is learning and learning well. Watch this space!<br />
That’s it till the season starts again. Have a nice break all.<br />
Photo: Jokob Ebrey<br />
Standings: Matt Neal 3rd - 127pts Dan Cammish 13th - 80 pts Halfords Yuasa Racing 2nd - 204 pts Honda 2nd - 367 pts<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 11 |
<strong>The</strong> Tommy Atkins Centre<br />
Tommy Atkins Centre June<br />
Hello from us here at the Tommy<br />
Atkins centre. <strong>The</strong> sunshine is<br />
really belting through the<br />
windows today, and it’s lovely to<br />
see some new faces attending<br />
our Peer Support group meeting<br />
with Simon West from Combat<br />
Stress.<br />
We’ve had a fairly busy this<br />
month so far, quite a few people<br />
booked onto different courses<br />
and Lisa our psychotherapist<br />
has a steady stream of veterans<br />
she is currently working with,<br />
though she is currently on a well<br />
deserved break for a week or<br />
two. <strong>No</strong> doubt she will be very<br />
busy again when she returns.<br />
It was an incredible honour to<br />
have Matt Neal and Ben<br />
Durrell from Team Dynamics<br />
here earlier this month. Two<br />
incredibly supportive guys,<br />
finding out all about the work<br />
we’re doing with veterans. We<br />
even got to have a drink with<br />
them later in the afternoon,<br />
which is always a lovely way to<br />
round off a meeting.<br />
If you’re ever in the area, feel<br />
free to call in for a chat. We’re<br />
open Tuesdays and Thursdays<br />
0930-1530 at 26 Sansome Walk<br />
Worcester. <strong>The</strong> kettle is always<br />
on ready for a brew.<br />
Enjoy the fantastic weather<br />
while it’s here. Talk again soon.<br />
Jane xx<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk/tommy<br />
atkinscentre<br />
News From <strong>The</strong> Tommy Atkins Centre<br />
NHS Veteran Lead Visit<br />
Dr Jonathan Leach, NHS<br />
Veteran Lead, England<br />
popped along to<br />
Worcester last week to<br />
speak about the new TILS<br />
and CTS system in which<br />
the Tommy Atkins Centre<br />
and SBT will be promoting<br />
and recommending Watch<br />
out for information over the<br />
coming weeks on this new initiative, contact numbers<br />
and details will be available here in the very<br />
near future for self referrals.<br />
TAC Welcomes Doctor<br />
We are very pleased to<br />
announce that Dr David<br />
Muss has joined the<br />
ranks of the Tommy<br />
Atkins Centre. David is<br />
the founder of the<br />
Rewind technique used<br />
in helping veterans with<br />
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. <strong>The</strong> treatment that<br />
David uses is so effective he is confident of stopping<br />
the effects of PTSD in just a few sessions.<br />
David is also coaching centre Psychotherapist, Lisa<br />
Whittaker in the technique. If you would like to<br />
know more about David and Rewind please go to<br />
page 22 or contact us at the Tommy Atkins Centre.<br />
BTCC Driver & SBT Patron, Matt Neal Takes<br />
Time Out To Visit <strong>The</strong> Tommy Atkins Centre<br />
What a complete pleasure to<br />
welcome the SBT Patron and 3<br />
x British Touring Car<br />
Champion, Matt Neal to the<br />
centre in Worcester. Despite<br />
Matt’s incredibly hectic life, his<br />
support for veterans is second<br />
to none. Matt, currently lying<br />
3rd in this years championship<br />
was treated to a guided tour of<br />
the centre followed by a presentation<br />
by the SBT editor on<br />
the truth behind the in’s and<br />
out’s of how the centre makes<br />
the difference to so many.<br />
Matt was accompanied by<br />
Team Dynamics Marketing and<br />
Sponsorship Manager, Ben<br />
Durrell who also works very<br />
closely with the magazine.<br />
Ben is currently looking into<br />
the possibility of getting Team<br />
Dynamics Motorsport, Matt’s<br />
team, signed up to the Armed<br />
Forces Covenant. This would<br />
be a first for the world of motor<br />
sport and just maybe, the start<br />
of a very welcome trend.<br />
Photo: Jakob Ebrey<br />
| 14 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
Patron to <strong>The</strong> Tommy Atkins Centre
VETERANS RAFFLE<br />
<strong>The</strong> Raffle That Is Just <strong>The</strong> Ticket For Veterans<br />
Have you heard of the YES (Your Emergency<br />
Services) Society Veterans Raffle that helps<br />
our Armed Forces & Emergency Services<br />
Veterans charities? We hadn’t either, until we<br />
spoke to founder (and former Police Officer),<br />
Chris Hearn, who told us all about it and<br />
explained just why he felt the need to take a<br />
huge leap of faith and set it up in the first<br />
place.<br />
“Don’t get me wrong,” says Chris, “I respect<br />
the National Lottery and all the other lotteries<br />
and raffles that do great things for good<br />
causes. What I don’t like, however, is the<br />
amount of money that they take out of the<br />
funds for things like ‘admin costs’ etc.”<br />
And once you look into it – it’s a bit of an<br />
eye-opener. On the YES Society website<br />
(yessociety.org.uk) it clearly shows in diagrams<br />
(laid out below) that the 3 major lottery<br />
companies in the UK are giving less<br />
than a third of the money they collect back<br />
to good causes and some also have admin<br />
costs of almost a third!<br />
“Once I found out exactly how little was<br />
going back to good causes, I just thought<br />
that was unacceptable,” says Chris. So he<br />
formed the non-profit organisation YES<br />
Society & then created the Veterans Raffle,<br />
designed upon a purposefully built platform<br />
that could give most of the money to supporting<br />
Good Causes and the rest back in<br />
Prizes, and with super low admin costs too.<br />
Chris also wanted to make sure the funds<br />
went to charities that made a real difference<br />
in their communities. He felt this was very<br />
relevant both to him and to his former colleagues<br />
with whom he had worked alongside<br />
for many years. YES Society has chosen<br />
to focus on supporting those who are<br />
suffering from mental health related conditions<br />
such as PTSD, those who have complex<br />
injuries such as loss of limb and those<br />
who find themselves out of work and/or<br />
homeless.<br />
“Some large military and emergency service<br />
charities are brilliant at raising money – but<br />
| 16 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
ased upon ethics, morals, social responsibility<br />
and transparency. We didn’t want to<br />
repeatedly ask for money so instead have<br />
gone for a monthly commitment model<br />
which aims to reward loyal support. We give<br />
a greater percentage to UK Good Causes<br />
than any lottery and we also retain the lowest<br />
percentage for our total operational costs.<br />
We also do not operate a rollover with our<br />
Veterans Raffle, which means there's a winner<br />
every draw. <strong>No</strong> prize is ever shared.”<br />
So it’s fair all round then?<br />
“Absolutely. Entries, draw results and prize<br />
notifications are electronic which means that<br />
there's never a lost ticket. You don't need a<br />
membership card and you never have to<br />
check the results yourself to make a claim<br />
either. YES Society does absolutely everything<br />
for you, from start to finish!”<br />
Founder: Christopher Hearn<br />
How do I support the Veterans Raffle<br />
what they actually do with it is fairly limited<br />
and proportionately only helps a small<br />
amount of people,” says Chris. “In my<br />
research I’ve found some brilliant smaller<br />
charities that do so much with so little but<br />
could help so many more if they only had the<br />
extra funds. All the charities we’ve currently<br />
selected to support are specialists in their<br />
field and we know exactly where their funds<br />
are prioritised. We will work closely with<br />
these & other charities to help secure their<br />
future and to continue to provide much<br />
needed support to those in greatest need.”<br />
So why should we play the YES Society<br />
Veterans Raffle then Chris?<br />
“YES Society has built its Veterans Raffle<br />
To keep things both simple and fair, everyone<br />
subscribes to donate exactly the same<br />
amount (£10) per month via the YES Society<br />
website, using the most secure payment<br />
method available today (Direct Debit). <strong>No</strong><br />
commission is paid to any third party retail<br />
outlets. <strong>No</strong> cash, card or cheque options so<br />
your donations can't go astray, and the vulnerable<br />
are protected too. It has to be the<br />
simplest and safest registration processes<br />
available.<br />
For more about YES Society or to simply<br />
enter the Veterans Raffle then go to:<br />
https://yessociety.org.uk/<br />
to help do some good and have fun at the<br />
same time!<br />
URBAN PRINTS<br />
Proud Sponsors of<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Sandbag</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> SBT would like to<br />
welcome Urban Prints,<br />
Worcester as an official<br />
sponsor for our magazine.<br />
Urban Prints<br />
Unit 7 <strong>The</strong> Gallery,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Shambles,<br />
Worcester<br />
WR1 2RA<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 17 |
FROM FORCES TO FRANCHISING<br />
WITH CHIPSAWAY<br />
ChipsAway is the leading provider of mobile small to medium area car repairs<br />
such as bumper scuffs, paint scratches, minor dents and alloy wheel repair<br />
CASE STUDY – Andy Darby<br />
A Royal Engineer in the Forces<br />
for 11 years.<br />
“I’m more fi nancially secure than<br />
I have ever been”<br />
Andy joined ChipsAway 15 years ago and was<br />
concerned about the transition from military<br />
to self employed, however after following the<br />
proven ChipsAway business model and taking<br />
advantage of the available training and support,<br />
it was a smooth transition. Within a couple of<br />
months, Andy was already earning the same<br />
level of income he had as a soldier! Andy now<br />
enjoys a great lifestyle, drives a top of the range<br />
sports car and estimates his net earnings<br />
are over 3x more than his previous salary!<br />
“Being my own boss is great, the satisfaction of seeing your<br />
business become increasingly successful is fantastic!”<br />
With IMI accredited training and ongoing support, brand leader ChipsAway<br />
provides a proven business opportunity with unlimited earning potential.<br />
<strong>The</strong> average ChipsAway franchisee received over £100,000 worth of customer<br />
enquiries in 2017, so you can be your own boss without having to go it alone.<br />
<strong>The</strong> franchise is £29,995+VAT<br />
AS SEEN ON<br />
TV<br />
For more info, call 0800 980 5951 or visit www.chipsaway.co.uk/franchise
Welcome To <strong>The</strong> Club<br />
<strong>The</strong> Union Jack Club is the only <strong>No</strong>n-<br />
Commissioned Armed Forces Club in the<br />
UK and has been used by the serving and<br />
ex serving community for over 100 years.<br />
Serving <strong>No</strong>n-Commissioned members<br />
of HM Armed Forces are<br />
automatic members and <strong>No</strong>n-<br />
Commissioned veterans are invited<br />
to become members for an<br />
annual fee of £17.<br />
Located next to Waterloo Station in<br />
London we offer a relaxed environment for<br />
members and their guests to enjoy themselves.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Union Jack Club’s versatile<br />
accommodation caters perfectly for individuals,<br />
couples, families and groups. <strong>The</strong><br />
263 rooms consist of single, twin, double<br />
and family accommodation. <strong>The</strong>re are also<br />
apartments that can sleep up to 6 people,<br />
a luxury suite with adjoining lounge and<br />
well equipped fully accessible bedrooms.<br />
<strong>The</strong> restaurant is open to all members<br />
whether you are staying or just passing<br />
through and offers a modern a la carte<br />
menu, which changes with the seasons.<br />
Serving we are told the best breakfast in<br />
London and fresh seasonal dishes with<br />
ingredients delivered daily from local suppliers<br />
the restaurant offers quality and is<br />
well priced.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Main Bar serves a variety of beverages<br />
with a pint of beer starting at £2.50<br />
and a bottle of wine at £13.50. <strong>The</strong> Bar<br />
has a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere,<br />
with quieter, more intimate areas<br />
where people can gather and catch up.<br />
<strong>The</strong> popular bar snack menu includes<br />
some classic choices such as the British<br />
beef-burger or Club sandwich. Our traditional<br />
afternoon tea includes a scone, jam<br />
and clotted cream and a refreshing pot of<br />
fresh tea or coffee.<br />
Other amenities include a baggage room,<br />
internet café, espresso bar, car parking,<br />
laundrette, FREE Wi-Fi, games and changing<br />
rooms, private event/reception rooms,<br />
library, use of Soho Gym and more can be<br />
found via www.ujclub.co.uk.<br />
Throughout the year we hold events for<br />
members including military history lectures,<br />
monthly wine tastings, and receptions.<br />
For our latest events go to<br />
www.ujclub.co.uk/events.<br />
Above all else, the Union Jack Club offers<br />
a sense of belonging and community with<br />
like-minded people so do please have a<br />
look at www.ujclub.co.uk/membership and<br />
join us and do check out the latest videos<br />
of the Union Jack Club at<br />
www.ujclub.co.uk<br />
| 20 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
UNION JACK CLUB<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 21 |
CANADA CALLING<br />
Canada Calling<br />
<strong>The</strong> Canuck Connection<br />
A Happy 151 st Birthday to Canada 01 July . I am very<br />
Proud of my Adopted Country Canada and her Military.<br />
<strong>The</strong> news that Canada is considering allowing non<br />
Canadian Citizens to enlist is heartening. <strong>The</strong><br />
requirement to be a citizen of Canada, was adopted I<br />
believe in the late 60s or early 70s. Until then non<br />
Canadians could and did enlist. I fact in my year of<br />
enlistment to the Soldier Apprentice programme in 1960<br />
there were many of us <strong>No</strong>n Canadians in the<br />
programme. It was not until 1969 that the father of our<br />
current PM, advised serving military personnel that no<br />
courses for promotion, would be given to non Canadian<br />
Citizens. Why I will never know as the majority on <strong>No</strong>n<br />
Citizens, were admirable in both honour and services to<br />
Canada.<br />
Meanwhile our primary ally and NATO partner the UK are<br />
seeking recruits with a lower education requirement?<br />
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/caf-military-foreignrecruits-1.4675889<br />
https://www.theguardian.com/uknews/2018/jun/08/british-army-criticised-for-examresults-day-recruitment-ads<br />
It seems that History is once again repeating itself with<br />
regard, to Military Recruiting.<br />
On the SUBJECT of Canada’s Birthday a hearty Bravo<br />
Zulu to all members currently serving and to Canada’s<br />
Veterans of all services.<br />
On that note this humorous cartoon<br />
has appeared lately in Canada. <strong>The</strong><br />
rumour has it that the return of equipment<br />
would be to give to Immigrants.<br />
However TRUTH be known Canada<br />
is drastically short of Equipment.<br />
Enjoy Canada Day with your families,<br />
stay safe.<br />
Nil Sine Labore<br />
Robby<br />
Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile<br />
| 22 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
HAVE FAITH<br />
Walk A Mile In My Shoes...<br />
This month’s reflection centres on a project that I have just<br />
undertaken. Bear with me on this. <strong>The</strong>re is an old saying that<br />
you should never judge somebody unless you’ve walked a<br />
mile in their shoes. Never a truer word said. But sometimes<br />
to understand a person you need to walk a mile in their shoes.<br />
This has never been more apparent to us than now as we try<br />
to get the public to understand the road veterans walk. In this<br />
day and age, news stories come and go so quickly one can<br />
be forgiven for forgetting the problems of other people.<br />
Especially when we are caught up in our own day to day lives.<br />
This can make awareness of the problems of others so<br />
difficult. <strong>The</strong> thing is regardless of how empathic we feel for<br />
somebody, there is no way we can walk a mile in somebody<br />
elses shoes. All we can really do is try to understand the best<br />
walk, I will consider what they must have been through. You<br />
see, these 21 have all taken their own lives this year. I shall<br />
walk in my old Army boots as they did and I will try to get<br />
people to understand what I am doing and why I am doing it<br />
in the hope that more people can walk a mile for someone<br />
they know that may be suffering. I know that God will be with<br />
me and will give me strength to complete the task. But<br />
whatever your beliefs, whatever your thoughts, whatever<br />
drives you forward, I ask you to walk a mile for somebody.<br />
More would be better and please let the world know what you<br />
are doing it for. What I also ask is during your walk, pave the<br />
way for our suffering veterans to get the help they need. All<br />
you need do is find your nearest veteran centre or<br />
organisation that can help and post it on social media with the<br />
details for veterans to use. Maybe that way, we won’t add any<br />
more miles to my walk.<br />
we can. But it can be a good idea to take the time to try to<br />
understand someone a little more. Learn about what has<br />
made that person good and bad. <strong>The</strong> more you know, the<br />
more you can start to walk a metaphorical mile but without this<br />
understanding and knowledge their shoes will never fit you.<br />
<strong>No</strong> one can really understand what Armed Forces Veterans<br />
have been through unless you have served alongside of them.<br />
And even then, that would me physically being alongside<br />
them on duty. That is the only way. But no-one can be<br />
expected to fully understand. Just to know that there is a long<br />
road walked. I would like to point out at this point that this is<br />
for everyone, not just Veterans but in light of recent events I<br />
would like to keep with our heroes. My idea, therefore is to<br />
walk a mile for a certain group of people. 21 of them in fact. I<br />
could never understand what they have been through but as I<br />
If you would like any more information on my project OP<br />
WAMITS (Operation Walk A Mile In <strong>The</strong>ir Shoes) please go to<br />
our website or get in touch with us. Thank you and God Bless<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 23 |
THE HEROPRENEURS AWARDS<br />
www.heropreneurs.co.uk<br />
<strong>The</strong> Heropreneurs Awards is a new initiative created to celebrate the achievements of ex-<br />
Armed Forces personnel in business. It is run by Heropreneurs, the charity created in 2009,<br />
that helps ex-Armed Forces personnel and their dependants on the road to creating their own<br />
businesses. <strong>The</strong> Awards are run in association with <strong>The</strong> Telegraph and the Warwick<br />
Business School, and with support from Goldman Sachs, the Ministry of Defence, OBXtek<br />
Inc and the Veterans’ Foundation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Judges for the Heropreneurs Awards are all exceptional people who have been recruited<br />
from the world of business, politics, and the Armed Forces. Chaired by General Sir John<br />
McColl KCB CBE DSO, the Judges include Paddy Ashdown, Deborah Meaden (of Dragons’<br />
Den), Major General Andrew Pringle CB CBE, Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Gregory KBE<br />
CB (Controller, SSAFA), Chris Weston (CEO – Aggreko plc), Andrew Brode (Chairman -<br />
RWS Holdings plc), Rear Admiral Alex Burton (CEO - EWaterPay), Emma Jones (Founder –<br />
Enterprise Nation), and Emma Willis MBE DL (Founder – Style for Soldiers).<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rt. Hon. Tobias Ellwood MP, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence, who<br />
will be presenting the top award for the Heropreneur of the<br />
Year said,<br />
"Many people have left the Armed Forces and created their<br />
own successful businesses. I am delighted to have been<br />
invited to attend the Heropreneurs Awards and to join people<br />
from the worlds of business, and the Armed Forces, in<br />
celebrating these achievements."<br />
Deborah Meaden, Entrepreneur and investor from Dragons’ Den, said,<br />
"I am delighted to be joining the judging panel for the Heropreneurs Awards<br />
and to witness first-hand the entrepreneurial spirit that exists within the<br />
Armed Forces Community."<br />
!<br />
| 24 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
THE HEROPRENEURS AWARDS<br />
Kevin Sneader, McKinsey’s Global Managing Partner – elect, said<br />
when he met Peter Mountford, the Chairman of Heropreneurs<br />
“Heropreneurs is a big idea, and I love big ideas”. Kevin is attending<br />
the Awards dinner.<br />
Peter Mountford, Chairman of Heropreneurs added,<br />
“People who have served in the Armed Forces have many skills and<br />
abilities that can be used to create great and inspiring businesses once<br />
back in civilian life. Heropreneurs now wants to celebrate the<br />
significant accomplishments of ex-Armed Forces personnel in the<br />
business world through <strong>The</strong> Heropreneurs Awards.”<br />
A total of eight Awards will be made in the following categories:<br />
• Business Leader of the Year<br />
• Employer of the Year<br />
• Entrepreneur of the Year<br />
• Heropreneur of the Year<br />
• Military Partner of the Year<br />
• Start-Up of the Year<br />
• Veterans’ Foundation Award<br />
• Warwick Business School Award<br />
(the winner of this Award will<br />
receive a bursary of 100% to<br />
complete an MBA with the<br />
Warwick Business School)<br />
<strong>The</strong> Awards ceremony will take place on 14 <strong>No</strong>vember 2018 at a formal dinner in the<br />
Plaisterers’ Hall in the City of London and will be hosted by broadcaster and journalist, Naga<br />
Munchetty.<br />
Naga Munchetty said,<br />
"I am delighted to support Heropreneurs by presenting their inaugural<br />
awards at the Plaisterers' Hall on 14 <strong>No</strong>vember. <strong>The</strong> ethos of<br />
Heropreneurs and their way of supporting the military community is<br />
inspiring.”<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no charge to enter the Awards or for Finalists to attend the Awards dinner.<br />
Further sponsorship opportunities are also available.<br />
<strong>No</strong>te:<br />
For more information contact:<br />
Peter Mountford, Chairman of Heropreneurs<br />
Amanda Rayner<br />
Mobile: 07774 842761<br />
Head of Events<br />
Email: peter@heropreneurs.co.uk<br />
amanda@heropreneurs.co.uk<br />
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!01494 671332<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 25 |
BY JULIE WARRINGTON<br />
Bomber County, June 2018:<br />
Today, the skies over the beautiful county of<br />
Lincolnshire are blue and untroubled. <strong>The</strong><br />
vapour trail from an airliner, high-flying and distant,<br />
is visible to the naked eye and the occasional<br />
pale cloud scuttles across the heavens.<br />
Peaceful and serene, the distinctive shape of a<br />
great mediaeval cathedral – the crowning glory<br />
of the city of Lincoln – sits, as it has for almost a<br />
millennia, on a hill above the Lincolnshire flatlands<br />
which stretch as far as the eye can see<br />
before blending in seamlessly with the horizon.<br />
It is a hot day. It is a quiet day. This is twentyfirst<br />
century England at peace.<br />
It’s difficult to imagine a time when this was any<br />
different, but there’s a reason why we British<br />
have a tradition of giving our counties nicknames<br />
– we call Kent ‘<strong>The</strong> Garden of England’<br />
in memory of her agricultural heyday,<br />
Lancashire and Yorkshire are known as the Red<br />
Rose and the White Rose respectively as we<br />
hark back six over hundred years to a bloody<br />
civil war and the emblems of two branches of<br />
the Plantagenet dynasty which met on battlefields<br />
across the country and pretty much tore<br />
us apart – and then there’s this peaceful<br />
Lincolnshire, which we are – justifiably if a little<br />
oddly - proud to call ‘Bomber County’.<br />
Some seventy eight ago, if you’d been standing<br />
on this very spot looking up at the skies, it<br />
would have been a very different story. Britain<br />
was at war and to be honest, things weren’t<br />
looking too good. By the late summer of 1940,<br />
the Nazi war machine had eaten its way<br />
through the very heart of Europe and the British<br />
Expeditionary Force had been driven back to<br />
the beaches of Dunkirk where it had been rescued<br />
at the eleventh hour under the cover of<br />
the guns of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air<br />
Force by an incredible flotilla of little boats from<br />
Britain which, crewed largely by ordinary people,<br />
had crossed the open sea under enemy<br />
fire to bring their men home.<br />
With some 338,226 allied troops safe and<br />
sound back in Blighty and following the collapse<br />
of France, Britain braced herself for the<br />
expected invasion. Between July and October<br />
of 1940, the Battle of Britain raged in the skies<br />
over southern England with the men of RAF<br />
Fighter Command (men from home, Empire<br />
and occupied territories which included Poland,<br />
France and Czechoslovakia amongst others<br />
and some eleven Americans who risked losing<br />
their citizenship for engaging in a foreign war)<br />
displaying outstanding courage in defying the<br />
greatest odds and refusing to be beaten by the<br />
superior strength of the Luftwaffe.<br />
RAF Bomber Command had been formed in<br />
1936, when the shadows of war were already<br />
beginning to form over Europe, it was known<br />
that – contrary to the agreed terms of the Treaty<br />
of Versailles - the German High Command had<br />
been building up its military capabilities and its<br />
air force in particular was beginning to pose a<br />
serious threat to Germany’s former foes. With<br />
the outbreak of war, the race was on for Britain<br />
to assemble a sufficient number of planes –<br />
both fighters and bombers – for both the<br />
defence of the British Isles and to carry the war<br />
across the English Channel and into Germany.<br />
Initially, bombing missions from Britain<br />
focussed on military and logistical targets such<br />
as taking out the assembled German invasion<br />
barges and fleets standing ready in the<br />
Channel ports, a vital – if slightly less glamorous<br />
– role than Fighter Command’s part in<br />
the Battle of Britain and it was only after a stray<br />
Luftwaffe bomber dropped its load on London<br />
that Churchill ordered Bomber Command to<br />
really go on the offensive and undertake the<br />
retaliatory bombing of Berlin. With Fighter<br />
Command’s resources stretched dangerously<br />
thin and close to the brink, this action helped to<br />
| 26 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE<br />
turn the tide in the Battle of Britain as Hitler,<br />
furious that his capital city had been bombed,<br />
ordered Goering to change his plan of attack<br />
and to switch from the ideal of destroying the<br />
RAF to bombing British civilian targets thus<br />
inadvertently giving British home defences precious<br />
time to recover and replenish. With the<br />
Battle of Britain in the bag, the country could be<br />
considered to be ‘safe for now’, and by early<br />
1942 the Americans had arrived and the prognosis<br />
for a final victory was much improved.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was still a war to win, however, for<br />
defence was not enough, and prior to the D-<br />
Day landings the only practical way to carry the<br />
war into Germany and the occupied territories<br />
was via the men of Britain’s Bomber Command.<br />
With the war gathering pace and more and<br />
more airfields being needed for Britain’s mighty<br />
new bomber fleet, where better to build those<br />
runways, control towers and hangars than the<br />
beautiful flatlands of Lincolnshire? <strong>No</strong>t only did<br />
the county provide space, ‘big skies’ and ideal<br />
terrain for the airstrips themselves, but it was<br />
also relatively close in proximity to Germany<br />
and would provide bomber crews with a pretty<br />
straight run across the <strong>No</strong>rth Sea and into<br />
occupied northern Europe. It is estimated that<br />
during the course of the war there were some<br />
100 allied airfields spread across the county,<br />
not all operational on a daily basis (some were<br />
emergency landing strips, some were training<br />
fields and decoy sites), and it is now nigh on<br />
impossible to count them all on account of a lot<br />
of paperwork having been destroyed when the<br />
war was over. What is certain though is that<br />
once the allied retaliatory bombing offensive<br />
began in earnest, it came in with a fury from<br />
rural Lincolnshire. <strong>The</strong> legendary Dam Busters<br />
took off from RAF Scampton, close to the city of<br />
Lincoln itself, and a visit to the churchyard there<br />
– indeed to practically any churchyard in the<br />
county - stands testimony to the price many<br />
airmen paid.<br />
Over the course of the War, almost 58,000 servicemen<br />
and women from Bomber Command<br />
would come to pay the ultimate price in the<br />
struggle for freedom. We should remember,<br />
that it was not only bomber crews who perished,<br />
but that servicemen and women shoring<br />
them up around the clock on the airbases back<br />
home also fell victim to enemy action.<br />
By the end of the war, the RAF had some 108<br />
bomber squadrons and over 1,500 operational<br />
aircraft and raids against such as fuel refineries,<br />
depots and communication links had damaged<br />
the German war effort beyond repair. Industrial<br />
cities in Germany also came under fire and it<br />
was ultimately this, the bombing of civilians<br />
which would cause Bomber Command’s reputation<br />
to be tarnished in the eyes of some and<br />
even vilified in others. This is not the place for<br />
such a discussion however and it should<br />
always be remembered that the crew members<br />
of the allied bombers who set off towards occupied<br />
Europe were following orders in time of<br />
war, and displayed a bravery and heartbreaking<br />
courage above and beyond that which many<br />
who later criticised them would ever be able to<br />
muster themselves.<br />
For many years following the Allied victory of<br />
19<strong>45</strong>, the heroes of Bomber Command were<br />
largely ignored, forgotten even, and it was not<br />
until 2012 that London’s Bomber Command<br />
memorial was dedicated but it was still felt by<br />
many that a tribute to the crews ought really to<br />
be built in the East of England, in close proximity<br />
to the crumbling control towers and long<br />
overgrown runways in the county which would<br />
have been the last sight of home for many who<br />
did not return and in the shadow of the most<br />
welcome landmark in the world for those who<br />
did make it back – Lincoln Cathedral – and thus<br />
it was that the International Bomber Command<br />
Centre dream was born. A trust was launched<br />
in 2009 by the then Lord Lieutenant of<br />
Lincolnshire, Tony Worth, and by late 2017 the<br />
memorial was completed and it was opened in<br />
January 2018. Sadly, Mr Worth passed away<br />
just a few short weeks before the opening of<br />
the memorial centre and so he wasn’t able to<br />
see his dream realised. In order to complete<br />
the memorial, the IBCC charity had to borrow<br />
£1.5 million and they’re looking to raise funds<br />
to repay that as soon as possible.<br />
Today, visitors from far and near flock to the<br />
spire which reaches for the sky in the flatlands<br />
of Bomber County, it is a long overdue and welcome<br />
addition to that iconic view of the<br />
Lincolnshire skyline. I have stood and looked<br />
at Lincoln Cathedral through an aperture in the<br />
new International Bomber Command Centre<br />
memorial, it was a beautiful day and all was<br />
well with my world certainly. <strong>The</strong> memorial<br />
stands 102 feet high to mirror the exact<br />
wingspan of the iconic Lancaster bomber, it is<br />
built from Corten weathering steel and around<br />
the base of the spire are 270 steel boards on<br />
which are carefully stencilled and laser cut the<br />
names of those 57,861 souls who did not live to<br />
see their final victory. <strong>The</strong>re are no ranks or<br />
awards noted, as the sacrifice of all remembered<br />
is equal and ultimate, the dead of <strong>45</strong><br />
nations, brothers in arms who fell in the cause<br />
of freedom.<br />
Freedom. We have an understandable tendency<br />
to take it for granted but the very word itself<br />
is a misnomer. Freedom isn’t free at all, it carries<br />
a very heavy price tag indeed. It is a parting<br />
gift to us from each every and person commemorated<br />
on the IBCC memorial and indeed<br />
on monuments and cenotaphs and war graves<br />
around the world. A gift for which we should be<br />
eternally thankful.<br />
Lest We Forget.<br />
For more information about the International<br />
Bomber Command Centre, and to make a<br />
donation if you’d like to support them, please<br />
visit https://internationalbcc.co.uk<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 27 |
TO ORDER PLEASE CALL: 01226 734222<br />
ORDER ONLINE: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk<br />
PEN AND SWORD BOOKS LTD<br />
47 CHURCH STREET • BARNSLEY • SOUTH YORKSHIRE • S70 2AS
SBT Supporting<br />
AFVBC.net<br />
Armed Forces &<br />
Veterans Breakfast Clubs<br />
www.afvbc.net<br />
WEBSITE<br />
Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile Walk <strong>The</strong> Mile<br />
| 38 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk<br />
| 30 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
Veterans Breakfast Clubs<br />
Sapperfest: That time of the year again!<br />
And From Around <strong>The</strong> Clubs...<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 39 |<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 31 |
Information<br />
A word from the Ed<br />
Hi folks and I do hope you’re all<br />
enjoying the wonderful sunshine<br />
here in the UK. Oh, I wish. In<br />
the middle of magazine writing,<br />
trying to help the centre, trying to<br />
launch a project, walking the dog<br />
and making dinner, I do get the<br />
odd five minutes to take in the<br />
lovely weather. But on to the<br />
minutes of the meeting. I do hope<br />
you’re all getting the jist of Op<br />
Wamits. Basically, I’m asking all<br />
of you to walk a mile (or more)<br />
hopefully in military style<br />
footwear (not essential but it will<br />
make it a little more realistic) and<br />
then post it on Social Media for<br />
all to see. On your video, please<br />
state anyone you may be doing it<br />
for but most importantly highlight<br />
to veterans in your area where<br />
they can get help. If you are<br />
unaware of these details then let<br />
me know and I will get the details<br />
for you. Hopefully by spreading<br />
the word will inform your<br />
veterans where they can turn to in<br />
times of desperation. We may<br />
just be able to stop a few more of<br />
the growing trend of suicides here<br />
in the UK. We have a bit of a<br />
bumper issue this month, many<br />
thanks to all who have<br />
contributed articles and bits and<br />
bobs. I have to say it is a great<br />
read. Special mention to the<br />
Union Jack Club, Yes Society, our<br />
very own Julie Warrington aka<br />
Mrs Fox, AFVBC boss, Dereck<br />
Hardman and all of our regular<br />
writers. Wow!! Should keep us<br />
all going for a while. I need to<br />
say a big thanks to our patron,<br />
Matt Neal for popping over to<br />
visit a few weeks ago. He really<br />
is a great ambassador for us<br />
veterans, he even forked out for a<br />
round in the pub after the meeting<br />
(need to teach him about<br />
Guinness though). <strong>The</strong>re are<br />
some great things on the horizon<br />
from our Matt but more on that in<br />
the near future. Just want to say a<br />
huge congrats for getting himself<br />
into 3rd position in the BTCC this<br />
year. Thats it from me, laters! Px<br />
“I hate being the new guy!”<br />
Ways to find us<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Sandbag</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
www.sandbagtimes.com<br />
thesandbagtimes<br />
@thesandbagtimes<br />
info@sandbagtimes.com<br />
A Song For A Hero<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Brand New Rock Opera which tells the truth of what<br />
happens to our heroes when the killing ends. Packed with<br />
incredible songs, breathtaking graphics and an emotional<br />
rollercoaster of a story that will leave you asking<br />
questions for a long time to come.”<br />
Where Do <strong>The</strong>y Go...<br />
...When the Killing Ends<br />
| 32 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
Information<br />
<strong>The</strong> Art Of War<br />
By Stephen Coontz<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chinese<br />
dragon is<br />
flexing its<br />
muscles. As its<br />
military begins<br />
to prey on<br />
neighbors in the<br />
South China<br />
Sea, attacking<br />
fishing vessels<br />
and scheming to<br />
seize natural<br />
resources,<br />
America goes on<br />
high alert. But a far<br />
more ominous<br />
danger lurks closer<br />
to home: A nuclear<br />
weapon has been<br />
planted in the harbor<br />
at <strong>No</strong>rfolk, Virginia―<br />
site of the biggest naval base on<br />
the planet. <strong>The</strong> target: a secret<br />
rendezvous of the Atlantic Fleet<br />
aircraft carriers and their battle<br />
groups. When the CIA director is<br />
assassinated and Jake Grafton is<br />
appointed to take his place, Jake<br />
gets wind of the conspiracy but<br />
has no idea when or where the<br />
attack will occur. Meanwhile, a<br />
series of assassinations―<br />
including an attempt on the life of<br />
the President of the United<br />
States―shakes the nation and<br />
deliberately masks a far more<br />
sinister objective. Can Jake and<br />
his right hand man, Tommy<br />
Carmellini, prevent a<br />
catastrophe far more<br />
devastating than Pearl Harbor<br />
and stop a plot to destroy the<br />
U.S. Navy?<br />
Reach For <strong>The</strong> Skies<br />
Central Band of the RAF<br />
Here’s a bit of a military one for you in light<br />
on the RAF Centenary. Wonderful military<br />
music beautifully produced.<br />
Rampage<br />
Dwayne Johnson<br />
Naomie Harris<br />
Malin Akerman<br />
Here’s one we watched recently.<br />
Very tongue in cheek but worth<br />
a watch. When three different<br />
animals become infected with a<br />
dangerous pathogen, a primatologist and<br />
a geneticist team up to stop them from<br />
destroying Chicago.<br />
Back issues of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Sandbag</strong> <strong>Times</strong> are available to download here<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 33 |
MRS FOX GOES TO WAR<br />
Mrs Fox Goes<br />
To War...<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chronicles of Little Hope<br />
1939 - 19<strong>45</strong><br />
Villager of the month:<br />
Dee Day<br />
and - after all - a rent-free dwelling with<br />
three fireplaces, an ice house and a painted<br />
boudoir was not to be sniffed at.<br />
As soon as War was declared, Dee volunteered<br />
to become an ARP warden (having<br />
promised Hilda Ffinch that she'd be sure to<br />
finish typing the sentence she was on and<br />
lock the infamous memoirs away in the<br />
safe before sallying forth to save the day)<br />
and took her duties very seriously indeed...<br />
At Hilda Ffinch's new Lonely Hearts Agency,<br />
things were not really going as planned. Dee<br />
quite fancied Tarquin, but he'd been missing in<br />
Indo-China since 1926...<br />
Hilda Ffinch:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bird With All <strong>The</strong> Answers<br />
Hilda Ffinch, Little Hope's very own Agony<br />
Aunt (page 5 of the Little Hope Herald) was<br />
easily bored and terribly rich. She loved nothing<br />
better than taking on the problems of others<br />
and either sorting them out or claiming<br />
that she'd never heard of them if it all went tits<br />
up and they had to leave the district under<br />
cover of darkness having followed her sage<br />
advice.<br />
You can catch up with the adventures of Dee<br />
Day at<br />
https://www.mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk/dee-day<br />
Diana' Dee' Day lived with her mother Holly<br />
and younger sister May in the old lodge at the<br />
entrance to Hilda Ffinch's rather grand estate<br />
where she tapped away religiously on her<br />
trusty typewriter from dawn to dusk each day<br />
transcribing Ms Ffinch's somewhat dubious<br />
memoirs. A terribly sensible girl, May was<br />
aware that Hilda had almost certainly never ridden<br />
up K4 on the back of an arthritic yak with<br />
the Duke of York, but went along with the charade<br />
as Hilda Ffinch was a generous employer<br />
This month’s letter comes from old Mr<br />
Cummings, he’s having a spot of bother with<br />
church verger Miss Mayflower. <strong>No</strong>t to worry<br />
though, Hilda’s on hand with her usual brand<br />
of sage advice...<br />
| 34 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
THE CHRONICLES OF LITTLE HOPE<br />
up sausage together in Oxford Street!<br />
Seventy six is no age at all, my good man, there’s<br />
many a good tune played on an old trombone. I’ll<br />
wager that in years to come a song will be written<br />
about just that.<br />
Be of good cheer now and perhaps consider taking<br />
a gentle stroll with the ladies of the Little Hope<br />
WI when they sally forth gathering nuts in the<br />
greenwood, I’m sure that they’ll be only too happy<br />
to take it in turns to hold your bag for you should<br />
it become a little heavy.<br />
Letter of the Month<br />
Dear Ms Ffinch,<br />
I seem to have an issue with a lady called Miss<br />
Mayflower, the church verger who seems to<br />
be giving me the eye. Forty years ago, I may<br />
have been flattered, but at the age of 76 I can<br />
hardly tie my shoelaces, never mind do anything<br />
else.<br />
I realise that I am one of the very few men left<br />
in our village with our brave men fighting the<br />
good fight and am happy to play my part in<br />
the war effort, but I do have my limits!<br />
Please advise, what should I do?<br />
Yours desperately<br />
Alfred Cummings<br />
With regards to Miss Mayflower herself, I’d take<br />
her name with a pinch of salt and stop worrying.<br />
She flowered just before the Titanic went down<br />
and has been all talk and no action ever since.<br />
Yours,<br />
Hilda Ffinch,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bird With All <strong>The</strong> Answers<br />
P.S. If the more militant members of the WI do<br />
happen to slip their hands into your pockets and<br />
offer to lighten your load, say “<strong>No</strong>!” as it won’t be<br />
the odd tanner they’re after and at your age you<br />
need to watch it.<br />
If you’d like Hilda Ffinch, <strong>The</strong> Bird With All <strong>The</strong><br />
Answers to address your own wartime problem,<br />
then pop along to https://www.mrsfoxgoestowar.co.uk/hilda-finch-agony-aunt<br />
to subject your<br />
personal crisis to her (hopefully) sober scrutiny.<br />
Remember to give yourself a suitable wartime<br />
alias! Letters will be answered online and a selection<br />
of them published in next month’s <strong>Sandbag</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong>.<br />
Dear Mr Cummings,<br />
Oh come, come now, sir! Do get a firm grip on<br />
yourself and endeavour to man up! If the<br />
Reverend Aubrey Fishwick can gamely fend off<br />
the sex starved harpies of Little Hope - admittedly<br />
with help from a bell, Book and candle<br />
in his case - then I’m sure that you can give an<br />
equally good account of yourself!<br />
Are you not, after all (as local legend has it),<br />
the sterling fellow who gave our dear Mr<br />
Churchill a bunk up so that he could get his<br />
leg over during his escape from the Boers in<br />
Pretoria in 1899? Why sir, without your<br />
impressive upward thrust we might even now<br />
be watching Herr Hitler and Lord Halifax<br />
shopping for lederhosen and a bit of spiced-<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 35 |
Poetry Corner<br />
On reaching the top of the hill I traced<br />
the inscriptions on the war memorial,<br />
leaned against it like a wishbone.<br />
<strong>The</strong> dove pulled freely against the sky,<br />
an ornamental stitch. I listened, hoping to hear<br />
your playground voice catching on the wind.<br />
By Mike Woods<br />
I am grateful to Pablo Snow, editor of <strong>The</strong> <strong>Sandbag</strong><br />
<strong>Times</strong> for the opportunity to write this section of the<br />
magazine. I am delighted to be able to include a<br />
poem by Jane Weir, one of the poets prescribed on<br />
the AQA GCSE syllabus in the section entitled<br />
‘Power and Conflict’. Her moving poem, ‘Poppies’<br />
appears below. It was commissioned by Carol Ann<br />
Duffy, the Poet Laureate as one of ten poems published<br />
in <strong>The</strong> Guardian newspaper in response to<br />
the conflict in Afghanistan. A film in which Jane<br />
talks about the genesis of the poem can be found<br />
here: https://youtu.be/r8QIcYdJPG0.<br />
POPPIES<br />
Jane Weir<br />
www.templarpoetry.com<br />
Three days before Armistice Sunday<br />
and poppies had already been placed<br />
on individual war graves. Before you left,<br />
I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals,<br />
spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade<br />
of yellow bias binding around your blazer.<br />
Sellotape bandaged around my hand,<br />
I rounded up as many white cat hairs<br />
as I could, smoothed down your shirt's<br />
upturned collar, steeled the softening<br />
of my face. I wanted to graze my nose<br />
across the tip of your nose, play at<br />
being Eskimos like we did when<br />
you were little. I resisted the impulse<br />
to run my fingers through the gelled<br />
blackthorns of your hair. All my words<br />
flattened, rolled, turned into felt,<br />
slowly melting. I was brave, as I walked<br />
with you, to the front door, threw<br />
it open, the world overflowing<br />
like a treasure chest. A split second<br />
and you were away, intoxicated.<br />
After you'd gone I went into your bedroom,<br />
released a song bird from its cage.<br />
Later a single dove flew from the pear tree,<br />
and this is where it has led me,<br />
skirting the church yard walls, my stomach busy<br />
making tucks, darts, pleats, hat-less, without<br />
a winter coat or reinforcements of scarf, gloves.<br />
Alongside her poetry writing, Jane is a textiles<br />
designer. <strong>The</strong> thread of imagery associated with her<br />
close knowledge is reflected in her choice of words<br />
such as ‘bias’, ‘blockade’ and ‘felt’, all of them resonantly<br />
ambiguous. <strong>The</strong>y are developed in the fourth<br />
satanza to communicate the emotional respnse fo a<br />
mother to her son’s imminent departure, her worry<br />
being expressed as the ‘tucks, darts, pleats’ of her<br />
stomach.This poem is one of a triptych, the others<br />
being entitled ‘A Hank of Yellow Wool in a<br />
Landscape’ and ‘<strong>The</strong> Face’. In response to my asking<br />
if it would be possible to include the pom in <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Sandbag</strong> <strong>Times</strong>, Jane wrote “‘Poppies’ was inspired<br />
by a ramble up to the war memorial in Matlock and<br />
through the very graveyard mentioned in the poem<br />
with my lad as a small boy many years ago. It got<br />
me thinking about Sassoon’s poem, ‘Sick Leave’<br />
when he was hospitalised at Craiglockhartt suffering<br />
from shell shock. He reported seeing men from his<br />
platoon at the foot of his bed asking him what he<br />
doing and why was he not with them.”<br />
SICK LEAVE<br />
When I’m asleep, dreaming and lulled and warm,<br />
<strong>The</strong>y come, the homeless ones, the noiseless dead.<br />
While the dim charging breakers of the storm<br />
Bellow and drone and rumble overhead,<br />
Out of the gloom they gather about my bed.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y whisper to my heart; their thoughts are mine.<br />
“Why are you here with all your watches ended?<br />
From Ypres to Frise we sought you in the line.”<br />
In bitter safety I awake, unfriended;<br />
And while the dawn begins with slashing rain<br />
I think of the Battalion in the mud.<br />
“When are you going out to them again?<br />
Are they not still your brothers through our blood?”<br />
Siegried Sassoon<br />
Siegfried Sassoon formed a famous friendship with<br />
| 36 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
POETRY CORNER<br />
Wilfred Owen at Craiglockhart hospital in Scotland. This<br />
was portrayed wonderfully in Pat Barker’s novel,<br />
Regeneration (1991). <strong>The</strong>y contributed to a poetry magazine<br />
called <strong>The</strong> Hydra, of which there is an online<br />
archive. It was at Craiglockhart that Owen’s Keatsean<br />
sensuousness was leavened by the example of<br />
Sassoon’s ironic bite.<br />
It is wonderful that <strong>The</strong> <strong>Sandbag</strong> <strong>Times</strong> provides the<br />
space for poetry on all subjects, something that would<br />
have pleased both Sassoon and Owen. Tragically,<br />
Wilfred Owen was killed in action on 4th <strong>No</strong>vember<br />
1918, just one week before the Armistice was signed.<br />
Sassoon died in 1967. As well as his poems. it is well<br />
worth reading his two volumes, Memoirs of Fox-Hunting<br />
Man and Memoirs of an Infantry Officer.<br />
One is often left wondering what else Wilfred Owen<br />
might have gone on to write after producing, by the age<br />
of twenty-five what are probably the best know poems<br />
ever written about war experience. Future editions of<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Sandbag</strong> <strong>Times</strong> will feature this mighty poet.<br />
One of the most important pieces of advice that can be<br />
given to anyone wanting to be a poet is to read the<br />
work of others. This is part of the apprenticeship of writing.<br />
An apprentice learns from a master of a trade and,<br />
over time, develops the necessary skills to qualify as an<br />
exponent of that trade or craft. Often, this involves the<br />
ability to make or build something. It is not surprising,<br />
then, that the word poet derived from the Greek poiein,<br />
‘to make’. A poet, then, is a maker. This necessitates a<br />
deliberate act, the application of craft and technique all<br />
fired in the forge of imagination. Shakespeare describes<br />
the process in the voice of <strong>The</strong>seus speaking to<br />
Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, having<br />
already said that ‘<strong>The</strong> lunatic, the lover, and the poet /<br />
Are of imagination all compact.’ (V,i,7-8):<br />
<strong>The</strong> poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,<br />
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;<br />
And as imagination bodies forth<br />
<strong>The</strong> forms of things unknown, the poet's pen<br />
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing<br />
A local habitation and a name. (AMND V,i, 12-18))<br />
<strong>The</strong> raw material of the trade is words and the skill lies<br />
in the shaping of the poem in terms of diction, syntax,<br />
form and sonic effects. All this, of course, is coordinated<br />
through the individual insight consider of the poet. This<br />
leads us to another consideration of what a poet is. <strong>The</strong><br />
Romans used the word vates or seer to describe a poet.<br />
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, one of the characters<br />
who appears in the opening scene is interchangeably<br />
given the name s poet or soothsayer, the latter meaning<br />
‘truth teller’. This also implies a prophetic ability. It is the<br />
poet/soothsayer who famously advised Caesar to<br />
‘beware the Ides of March’, which proved to be the day<br />
of his assassination at the hands of the conspirators.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se days, we do not credit poets with the power of<br />
clairvoyance but there is still an acknowledgment of<br />
their insight and ability to ‘see into the life of things’ as<br />
Wordsworth put it. We respond to what T.S Eliot said a<br />
poem should be - ‘the best words in the best order’.<br />
With all this in mind, what follows is an example of what<br />
is an expertly crafted poem. It was written by Gerard<br />
Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) in 1877, while he was<br />
studying theology at St.Beuno’s in <strong>No</strong>rth Wales.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Maker and the Made<br />
It is well known that we tend to turn to poetry at significant<br />
points in ours lives. Although we may know what<br />
we think and how we feel, it is not always easy to convey<br />
thoughts and feelings in a form of words equal to<br />
them. Often, we find a poem that says exactly what we<br />
think and feel and have a sense of recognition because<br />
it so precisely says what we wanted to articulate. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
are those of us, though, who do have a compulsion to<br />
write.<br />
PIED BEAUTY<br />
Glory be to God for dappled things –<br />
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;<br />
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;<br />
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;<br />
Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and<br />
plough;<br />
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.<br />
www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 37 |
All things counter, original, spare, strange;<br />
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows<br />
how?)<br />
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;<br />
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:<br />
Praise him.<br />
Gerard Manley Hopkins<br />
Whilst not everyone will subscribe to the theology<br />
of this poem, its technical features are<br />
striking. In the first instance, it is clearly the<br />
work of a writer who has done his time as a<br />
poetic apprentice and has reached the point of<br />
technical mastery to the point of being innovatory.<br />
Hopkins wrote in his journal, ‘the effect of<br />
works of genius is to make me admire and do<br />
otherwise’ and in this poem, a curtal sonnet, a<br />
version of the form he invented, we do indeed<br />
see Hopkins doing otherwise. He reduces the<br />
standard fourteen lines of the Italian or petrarchan<br />
sonnet to ten and a half lines, whilst<br />
maintaining the same proportions of the standard<br />
form. <strong>The</strong> compact container of the curtal<br />
sonnet is suited ot the purpose of giving us the<br />
sense of all things being crammed in to the<br />
world, the plenitude of being. <strong>The</strong> alliteration,<br />
assonance and rhyme deployed in the poem<br />
link the disparate facets of the world in one<br />
unifying principle which, for Hopkins, is God.<br />
Hopkins was always at pains to arrive at the<br />
essence of things, their ‘inscape. In a letter to<br />
his friend, Robert Bridges (Poet Laureate1913-<br />
1930), he wrote, ‘...design, pattern or what I<br />
am in the habit of calling inscape is what I<br />
above all aim at in poetry.’ Pied Beauty certainly<br />
fulfils the poets aim through its careful<br />
design and patterning. A lot more that can be<br />
said about this poem; it serves as an example<br />
of how a great deal can be expressed in a<br />
short form.<br />
Keeping apprenticeship firmly in mind, it is a<br />
pleasure to include a poem by Hannah<br />
Searson who, at the age of fifteen, has successfully<br />
combined free verse with an element<br />
of refrain and repetition to address what is a<br />
very difficult subject. Well done, Hannah.<br />
To our minds<br />
To our bodies<br />
To the lies we tell ourselves<br />
To our souls<br />
To our hearts<br />
To our thoughts that are kept on dusty bookshelves<br />
In for four<br />
Hold for seven<br />
Out for eight<br />
In for four<br />
Hold for seven<br />
Out for eight<br />
In for four<br />
Hold for seven<br />
Out for eight<br />
In for...<br />
It just doesn’t work<br />
It just keeps on like an endless cycle<br />
Our minds constantly go berserk<br />
It’s an endless recital<br />
It’s a constant battle<br />
It’s a never ending race<br />
Our crooked mind lets out it’s sick cackle<br />
And then we’re gone without a trace<br />
And just like that<br />
We slip into darkness<br />
Forever waiting for that light<br />
Until our hope falls flat<br />
But regardless<br />
We’re stuck in a never ending headlight<br />
Of doubt<br />
Of fear<br />
Of all that put us down<br />
In for four<br />
Hold for seven<br />
Out for eight<br />
Maybe just Maybe it may work today.<br />
Hannah Searson (15)<br />
Breathe<br />
In for four<br />
Hold for seven<br />
Out for eight<br />
In for four<br />
Hold for seven<br />
Out for eight<br />
That’s what they teach us<br />
That’s what we get taught<br />
When we break down<br />
And don’t know what to do anymore<br />
We get told that same ritual<br />
We get shown that same thing<br />
that’s unintelligible<br />
Win This Fantastic Title<br />
This unusual and beautiful book collects together twenty<br />
five of the often read, well-loved poets. Each<br />
poet is illustrated with an original watercolor<br />
portrait by the talented young artist,<br />
Charlotte Zeepvat, who reproduces in<br />
pleasing script one of their works, giving a<br />
biographical summary that placed the poet<br />
firmly in the battlefield context in which<br />
their work was conceived.<br />
To have a chance at winning this<br />
fabulous book, simply email your<br />
poetry to:<br />
mike@sandbagtimes.com<br />
| 38 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk