A few humbling stories... The RBL claims poverty every year around Remembrance Sunday yet have millions upon million invested doing feck all except earning interest.
JAMES GALLAGHER, 57.
"I'm from Dumbarton. I served in the RAF regiment from 1966 to 1975, then 15 Para and the French Foreign Legion from 1980 to 1990. I trained at RAF Hemswell, Lincoln, and when I joined the legion, I trained in the south of France. I saw action most recently in Bosnia, and before that Rwanda. I was working with the United Nations out there. I've seen action in Chad, Northern Ireland and a place called Djibouti on the east coast of Africa. When you get to 40 years old, you start to think about lots of things and wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. That's when I decided to leave the armed forces. My first feeling of leaving the army was like setting out on a new adventure. I was full of confidence to adapt to civilian life. But civilian folk don't have the same disciplines as a squaddie, dealing with diversity of the environment. No regiment in the world could prepare you for living in the East End of London. How I ended up homeless is a very broad question, but money and drink had a part to play."
RICHARD COUSINS, 40.
"I'm from Liverpool and joined the Royal Engineers when I was 18, some time around the early 1980s. I would say my childhood was happy. I always knew what I wanted to do. I joined the army cadets when I was in my teens. But I didn't fit in at school and was subjected to bullying. A friend told me about the army and we joined together. I'd always loved war movies and I had nothing to lose. I trained to be a soldier at Pirbright, Surrey, and left because I got an ankle injury and was medically discharged. I was very sad when I left the army. It was like leaving my brothers and I felt as if I'd let them down. After leaving, I started working on the funfair. I tried studying for a degree, but failed. I've been on the streets for over two-and-a half years. I have a son, but the missus doesn't want me around. I sometimes go to the St Martin's night shelter. I've chosen to remain on the streets. I get sickness benefit for depression, which was caused from leaving the forces. I hit the bottle big time and that's why I had a breakdown. I'm looking for somewhere to live and I'm saving the money from my sickness benefit to buy a house in Cornwall."
MICHAEL HARRIS, 33.
"I'm from Ghana originally. I joined the Royal Artillery in 1989 and left in 1994. I saw some action when I was in South Armagh, Northern Ireland. When I left the forces I felt good. I was looking forward to going into the unknown. I did jobs from security work to construction. I went travelling. But I ended up homeless because when I returned to England I had little money. I went to the council to get somewhere to live and was told that unless I was under 18 or over 65 I didn't stand much chance. I got in touch with Ex-Service Fellowship Centre in Victoria, London, and they offered me a room. The only other option was the streets."
ANNA LANCASTER, 47.
"I'm from Hertfordshire. I joined the Royal Navy in 1976, and left in 1998. When I was homeless [after leaving] I never ended up on the streets, but I got very close to it. I used up all my friends, and was running out of ideas. If it had gone on any longer, I'd be on the streets. When they [ex-services members] come back [from duty], homeless and not knowing where to go, they find it hard. Although there is information, it's the basic things, like your rights and how you can get help [that are lacking]. The paperwork involved, with a mental health problem, is too much and you need help. The Veterans Agency can help. It took me a long time to find this out and they have been very helpful to me."
KEITH TYRER, 30 something.
"I was born in Chelmsford, Essex. I joined the Royal Artillery. I trained at Colchester and Aldershot in 1992, and left the forces in 1996 because I was medically discharged. I really felt gutted about that. I saw action at the back end of the Gulf war in 1992, and I served in Bosnia and Kosovo, where I was shot. After discharge I travelled around and ended up on the streets. I had little money from ex-forces charities, such as SSAFA Forces Help. I ain't into settling down just yet."
STEPHEN ANDERSON, 37.
"I am from Birmingham. I had a very happy childhood. I remember playing with my Action Man, and my parents buying me an army uniform when I was a toddler. I was ever so proud. I trained at Kiwi Barracks and Bulford Barracks in Salisbury and joined the Devon & Dorset Regiment at the age of 18 in 1983. I left, aged 22, in 1988. I didn't see any action really, just some trouble with Greenpeace activists. I left the forces because I was medically discharged. After leaving the army, I went travelling across Europe. I found out about New Belvedere House from my local jobcentre."
DAMIEN MASON, 22.
"I was in the Parachute Regiment in Iraq when I was shot. A bullet took my right temple lobe away, and I've got shrapnel in my back. I went to a military rehabilitation centre. We did physiotherapy, group therapy, and occupational therapy. You had counselling sessions, but it was not like a civvy street counselling walk-in centre. They kept going on about anger all the time. 'Are you angry?' they kept asking. I was like: 'No, I don't want to see you any more.' At the end of the day, of course, I was angry and I felt they were trying to wind me up all the time. I got a bottle of whisky and a handwritten note from Prince Charles. No one from the government contacted me. I don't receive much counselling now. I've been to one or two sessions on the NHS, but they can't really see where I'm coming from. They don't get many people go there with gunshot wounds."
ASA BARNES, 31.
"I'm from Bexley Heath, south London. I joined the Grenadier Guards in 1992. I was trained at Pirbright, Surrey, and came out the same year. The reason I left the Guards so early was because I was kicked out for violence. I didn't want to leave . . . but there you go. After that I worked as a lift engineer and for a male escort agency. I ended up homeless after splitting up with my long-term girlfriend. I couldn't keep my dick in my trousers. I needed to be in London, because that's where the work was. Trouble was, I kept getting into lots of trouble. I've been in prison four times, all for violent offences There's lots of violence in my family. Many hostels won't take on violent cases. My family don't want to know me, but sometimes give me a bit of money or a meal here and there. We need to sort out this country. I mean, look at the homeless squaddie situation. You do all that bullshit to end up on the streets."
TERRANCE DEMPSEY, 56.
"I was born in Bolton. I joined the Scots Guards in 1971, aged 18, and got out on March 20, 1975. I joined the Guards because my parents were Scottish. I saw action on two tours of Northern Ireland. It felt right leaving the army as I didn't relish the idea of being stationed in Germany. When I got out I worked as an HGV driver and moved to Inverness to become part of a spiritual community. I worked with troubled kids for around 20 years. I visited my son, who was living in London, and he told me they were desperate for HGV drivers. I worked there for three years and busted my hand, which put me out of work. I also had a heart attack. I was in rented accommodation when the owner told me she was selling up. I had no money, but when she bought a new place she let me have a room. The tenants were drug addicts. They kept hassling me to join in with their parties, but when I did I got a beating. I was directed to Great Chapel Street shelter in Soho, where they referred me to the St Martin in the Field shelter. There, a woman from SSAFA Forces Help directed me to the Ex-Forces Fellowship Centre in Victoria. They gave me a room there and then."
LARRY EVANS, 58.
"I'm from Rhonda Valley in south Wales. I joined the Royal Artillery, but came out in 1965 because my services were no longer required, and I was discharged. I had real problems with leaving. I tried to be a soldier, but it didn't work. It wasn't really my cup of tea. I saw no action anywhere. I had no animosity towards being kicked out, but I did feel sad about leaving. I had been around the forces all through my childhood with my parents; my father served in the RAF. I was also victim to a lot of bullying at school. I ended up homeless from not paying the rent and kept getting evicted, because I drank all the money I earned, so I ended up on the streets and lived the life of soup kitchen runs and begging. I wear Airborne forces sweatshirts because it gives me a sense of security. When I was on the streets, the sight of a Parachute Regiment T-shirt would stop anyone giving me any hassle."
BRIAN MORAN, 49.
"I joined the Royal Marine Commandos in 1974. My mindset at the time was like the Commando comics: action, adventure, going to war. But it was just dribs and drabs. Life in the marines was 90% boredom, 10% terror. Around the age of 27-28, I was very disillusioned, so I decided that was it and I got out. When I left I still had the bootneck attitude from being inside the corps. I soon realised the outside world could not care less. People have a different mindset to a squaddie; they live life differently. Outside, it's dog eat dog. It took me a long time to adjust. I worked as a nightclub doorman and drank far too much, living the life of Riley. I also worked as a security adviser, but kept on pissing it up and lost the job. Got into more fights and ended up on remand for a few months. I slept in a graveyard with my two plastic bags. Went to the social services the next morning and they gave me a £5 note to get to London. I wandered around for months, sleeping in streets, alleyways, hotel car parks. I quite enjoyed it in a way. I learned a lot: the tricks of the trade, like how to keep your head down, how to act aggressively, how to get what you want."
DALTON MILLER, 20.
"I'm from Jamaica originally and joined the Royal Green Jackets in 2002. I trained at Catterick and left the army in March 2004. My reasons for leaving were because my services were no longer required and I was discharged from the army. I felt gutted about leaving. I didn't want to leave and I felt very cheated. I found out about New Belvedere House from a leaflet from a friend. I don't get on with my family and I had nowhere else to go." ERIC COLLYMORE, 44.
"I joined the Royal Artillery Junior Leaders in 1976. My father was in the merchant navy so he understood about me joining up. My mother was not very happy, especially with the troubles in Northern Ireland. In 1982, I left the army after serving my time mostly in Germany and Northern Ireland. I didn't see much action. I was both happy and sad to leave. I ended up homeless because I was a gambler and had a good time on my credit cards. I lost it all, including my council flat. I didn't actually end up on the streets. I had a few sofas to sleep on. Sometimes it was best that I kept myself to myself when living at the hostel. The amount of fights that went on there was unbelievable. There were fights most nights."
