Help for Heroes

**Bombardier** · 09-06-10, 17:19

For those of you who are unaware I am a serving British Police officer and Ex British Army Artillerymen.

Myself and two of my buddies are looking for sponsorship for the Help for Heroes or H4H charity which looks after our injured Servicemen and women and families.

What is H4H all about? It’s about the blokes, our men and women. It’s about Derri, a rugby player who has lost both his legs, it's about Carl whose jaw is wired up so he has been drinking through a straw. It’s about Richard who was handed a mobile phone as he lay on the stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. It is about Ben, it's about Steven and Andy and Mark, it's about them all. They are just blokes but they are our blokes; they are our heroes. We want to help our heroes.

We intend to do something that is completeley alien to us all, that is to jump out of a perfectly servicable aircraft as part of a Tandem SkyDive.

Help For Heroes although a Charity geared to help British Servicemen and Women they are part of a larger Allied Force and even the smallest amount will go a long way to make sure that our Troops are properly looked after.

I know that times are very hard at the moment with the Global Financial situation however these boys and girls deserve all our support.

Thanks for reading this and I hope you can help in some way.

The website is at

https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/viceroy

In case youa re wondering Viceroy is the name of the Team I am working with in my job at present.

My Colleague Patrick Wood is the head organiser for this event and it is his name you will see on the web page.

When our Jumps are complete I will post images of the Team for all to see.

**John A Silkstone** · 09-06-10, 22:34

Hi Andy I’ve always kept away for mentioning that you are a serving police officer. However I can assure everyone that your parents were married when you were born and that you are not the Barsteward that all the lags call you. How is the family? I’ve not seen them in a long time as I’ve not been in your neck of the woods for ages.

I’ll make a donation and hope you all land well. Here’s a snippet from my book which I know you’ve read as you have a copy and we had a good laugh about some of the things I got up to while I was serving.

All the best Silky

A DISAPPOINTMENT

While at Kimmle camp, I volunteered for the paratroopers. I had to pass a fitness test, which fortunately I managed to do. A week later, the group of us who had passed the physical had to attend a medical. After the examination, another chap and myself where informed that we had a slight heart murmur, and that we would not be allowed to jump from aeroplanes. I was very disappointed to say the least. Years later, I wrote this poem.

WHERE WARM THERMALS FLOW

Down in the hollow that’s known as The Dell
The ash and the oak are blooming in spring.
Forest floor painted with nature’s bluebell
While high in the branches, birds nest and sing.
Out of the nest there peeks a small fledgling
Not ready for flight though craving to go,
With wings open wide in blue skies soaring
To be in the air where warm thermals flow.

On terra firma where man has to dwell
Stands a young boy, who’s hoping and wishing,
To fly on high with a sleek Philomel
That’s turning and soaring, dipping and gliding.
Facing the sky where soft winds are whispering
He gazes in awe with his face all-aglow,
Feet rooted in clay eternally longing
To be in the air where warm thermals flow.

Descending through clouds he spinningly fell
The wind rushes past him loudly screaming,
With joy in his heart he lets out a yell
Plummeting downwards, no longer dreaming.
Akin to an albatross gliding on wing,
Beneath a white canopy he swings to and fro,
Drifting to earth he’s no longer speeding
To be in the air where warm thermals flow.

Like dandelions’ seeds, he’s parachuting
Floating on up-draughts above earth below,
Ambition at last blossomed this morning
To be in the air where warm thermals flow.

Authors note - Philomel is the old English word for a Nightingale.

**Bombardier** · 09-06-10, 22:38

Thanks Silky
I had always kept it to myself but have decided why the feck should I, people who dislike the police and our military may have their reasons but they are usually the wrong reasons.

I am proud of my military and police service and the service our Military give to the our country and the rest of the World, so decided to let it slip.

Also the name Viceroy on the donation web site needed some explaining and I didnt want to lie about it.

thanks for your donation and your kind words.

The family are fine , thanks for asking and you are always welcome here for a brew anytime.

**GunBunnyInaMAB** · 10-06-10, 04:51

Small world, you guys... I served on the Schloss Kaserne Unit Police in Germany; Did a 2 year tour of duty as a Special Police Officer in Washington, D.C.; Drove armor plated limousines as a body guard for another 4 years in D.C.; and worked private security for several years before going on disability.

As far as jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, better you than me. I don't think my knees could handle the impact. I was content to rappell out of helicopters!

Air Assault!!!

GOOD CAUSE, THOUGH!!!

**John A Silkstone** · 10-06-10, 08:38

I too changed the colour of my uniform to blue, but it was only for four years. In 1985 the police force was being reduced and as I had my army pension I thought it better for me to go than some young officer. As it was, I walked straight into a job with local government.

Silky

**Bombardier** · 11-06-10, 16:04

Raising my post to the top again.

supperman · 18-02-12, 04:34

I WENT into a public 'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, " We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, go away " ;
But it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, wait outside ";
But it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "
But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!