Remember our present day heroes

02/10/2008

Very little, if any, publicity has been given to an event that took place at Twickenham Rugby Football on Saturday, 20th September last. 

 

I did see a tiny paragraph in The Times but that's all! It is a sad indictment of Government that charity events have to be arranged to raise money for rehabilitation facilities for badly wounded and maimed troops returing from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanisan.

 

A couple of national newspaper journalists came up with the idea of arranging a rugby match between an international select fifteen and a team made up of Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson, Jason Robinson and other members of the World Cup winning side of 2003, the Help for Heroes side. They put the idea to the powers that be at Rugby HQ, who thought it a brilliant idea. The event was to raise money for improved facilities at the rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey. The required target figure for this purpose was £1m.

 

I went to the event together with my son, and two grandsons. It was an absolutely marvellous event and a truly wonderful family occasion with all the fun of the fair and events to entertain the kids, (and parents I hasten to add,) with all the services, RAF, Army and Royal Navy with their respective caravans showing off various aspects of life in the armed forces.

 

The match itself was played with all the grunt, skill and ferocity that rugby union football matches are usually played. The score was not really important as everyone was enjoying themselves and knew they were paying, not just to watch a rugby game but for a really worthwhile cause. The Help for Heroes side won by a good margin in fact.

 

During the halftime interval there was a large screen showing a young soldier who had lost both legs and one arm in Afghanistan. He talked of his experiences and at no time did he speak of the injustice of his injuries, nor did he make any political reference to the inadequacy of his fighting equipment. He was completely modest and self-effacing about it all and I am not ashamed to say there were more than a few tears shed, myself and my son included, as this guy was speaking.

 

Happily the event excelled and overtook the target sum making the grand total of £1.1m from the 52,000+ good souls who attended the event. Had I been a newspaper editor the following Monday morning, I would have made sure this event was headlined in my paper.

 

 

 

Walter J. Bourne, Milton Keynes