A personal message from Combat Stress Ambassador Sir Patrick Stewart

Dear friends,

As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, I think of my father who suffered in silence with the psychological trauma he sustained in the Second World War. To his Army colleagues, my father Alfred was a remarkable man, a soldier for many years who became regimental sergeant major for the British Army’s Parachute Regiment. But when his military service ended, my family knew a different side of him.

My mother, brother and I had to live with an unpredictable and angry man. He couldn’t control his emotions and was often extremely violent at home. But a decade ago, I discovered he must have been suffering from PTSD, or shellshock as it was known then. And this knowledge gave me a much better understanding of his behaviour.

It’s impossible for me to imagine the trauma my father must have experienced on the frontline, and I wish my family had known about Combat Stress at the time to get him the support he needed.

I now understand how the trauma must have affected my father on a daily basis, and why it’s so important for veterans to seek help. That’s why I’m proud to be an Ambassador for Combat Stress. Specialist mental health treatment can be utterly transformative, helping veterans tackle the past and take on the future. And that’s why I’m appealing to you now. Any gift you can give today will make such a difference to the lives of veterans and their families. Thank you.

Sir Patrick Stewart

Combat Stress Ambassador