Iraq war veteran from Fenton cycling hundreds of miles for charity
Wayne Cartlidge suffered complex PTSD and is raising awareness and and money for Help for Heroes
A veteran who was injured in Iraq and is now studying for a law degree is just one of the many volunteers who will be attending Armed Forces charity Help for Heroes’ first national collection since the pandemic, at Stafford’s Chetwynd Centre Tesco Extra store on Saturday and Sunday (26 and 27) June – with 26 June being Armed Forces day.
After a difficult financial year due Covid-19, Help for Heroes is delighted the collection is now able to take place at Tesco stores around the country. And the charity is particularly grateful to Staffordshire residents who have stepped up following an urgent appeal for volunteers to ensure that the collection could happen.
Help for Heroes Area Fundraising Manager for Stafford, Trevor Fudger, says, “After such a difficult year, it’s great that we can once again be welcomed into Tesco stores to raise money for veterans with mental or psychological injuries. It’s exciting that our volunteers are able to fundraise in person again, and we hope that anyone in or near Stafford on 26 or 27 June remembers those who have been wounded as a result of serving their country by popping into the Tesco store at the Chetwynd Centre and donating as much, or as little, as they can. Every pound can make a genuine difference.”
Like the majority of the charity’s fundraising initiatives last year, the Tesco National Collection for Help for Heroes had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus, so this year’s event is an important one to help in reducing the shortfall in its income. Help for Heroes relies on the generosity of the public for the majority of its funding and saw a loss of approximately 75% to its income from national collections during 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
University student, Wayne Cartlidge, a veteran who has been supported by Help for Heroes, will be giving his time voluntarily and riding his bike in the Tesco store on both days of the collection to give people an idea of what veterans do to keep motivated and fit once they have had to leave the Armed Forces due to injury or illness – and hopes he’ll encourage people to donate by doing so.
Wayne joined the British Army in 1992 doing tours in Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Sierra Leone, but it was in Iraq that he sustained injuries to his back, knees and legs, for which he has had numerous operations and his medical treatment is an ongoing process. A number of procedures he’s waiting for have been delayed over the last 12 months due to the pandemic.
His injuries have also had an impact on his mental health and, after years of struggling, he was diagnosed with complex PTSD in 2018. He believes that, without the support of Help for Heroes and its Hidden Wounds team, he may not be here today.
He comments, “After all the support I have received from Help for Heroes, which also includes help with getting me equipment to allow me to go back to university after leaving the Army, I want to do my bit to help. I want to ensure that serving soldiers and veterans are able to receive help and support from them in the same way that I have done and this is especially important in times like we face today.
“As well as fundraising and helping in the national collections, I am also studying law so that I can provide services to veterans when they need it and as I am able. Veterans do not have a huge choice when needing legal support for military matters.”
Wayne is actively involved in Help for Heroes in a number of ways, being a member of the Band of Brothers, the charity’s fellowship offering for veterans, taking part in the charity’s weekly virtual Zwift cycle rides, cycling 400 miles in June for its Heroes Ride 200 sponsored cycle ride, entering a cycling sportive in Droitwich, also to raise funds for Help for Heroes, and signing up to its Big Battlefield Bike Ride in 2022, a ride of over 350 miles in the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium along the Western Front.