Veterans march to highlight 'unseen scars' of PTSD

Veterans have come together to march across two counties to highlight the "unseen scars" of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

More than 50 people kicked off Operation Bold Remembrance, a 62km (39 miles) trek from Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire to Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.

Lt Col Baz Melia MBE said he wanted to highlight the experience military personnel could have when they returned to civilian life, which he said could often be traumatic.

"The scars are unseen", he said. "It is incredibly difficult to transition from serviceman to civilian, doing events like this helps people readjust," he added.

The veterans, mostly former members of The Light Infantry and The Rifles, are carrying a weighted stretcher which bears a dummy in military clothes, designed to be a "symbolic casualty" of PTSD.

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One of those marching is Mike Harper from Yorkshire, who reached the rank of Corporal during tours of the Falklands and Northern Ireland.

He likened a brain with PTSD to a filing cabinet which has been "jumbled around".

"Two years ago I broke down and tried to take my own life. Luckily I got support.

"Unfortunately people don't know much about PTSD until they get it," he said.

With each step taken, the veteran said he would think of lost colleagues and "how proud they would be".

"It's in memory of them. If we don't keep that memory going, what was it all about in the first place?" he added.

Royal Wootton Bassett was chosen as the starting location of the trek due to its links to the military.

Between 2007 and 2011, the town became synonymous with the repatriation of bodies of UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Residents would line the streets as hearses drove through from nearby RAF Lyneham.

"We are humbled by the amount of effort they put into repatriation," Melia said.

The march will finish in Winchester at 11:00 GMT on Sunday.

Richard Davy, a veteran of the Light Infantry First Battalion and a co-cordinator of the event, said marches like this not only raised money, but also gave veterans something positive to look forward to.

Davy, who is now a foster carer, added: "It brings them out their shell and makes them a better person."

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