Two army veterans, who struggled readjusting to civilian life, will walk from Bangor to Chester next week to raise funds and highlight the struggles many ex–military personnel face.

 

Nathan Bate and friend Tony Sumner, both veterans from the Staffordshire Regiment, will start their 100 mile walk from Bangor on the eve of the 27th September 2021. They will take in a mix of different terrains, following a coastal route, then over to Chester. They will finish the challenge at The Swan Inn, Main Road, Betley near Crewe on 2nd October 2021.

Both men will be sleeping rough over the 6 days of the challenge, something Nathan has experienced as part of his transition from leaving the army. The Royal British Legion estimates there are 6,000 homeless veterans sleeping rough, which is about 3-4% of the homeless population.

After enlisting at the age of 16, Nathan’s first deployment was to Northern Ireland at age of 17. He has since completed deployments all over the world in both areas of conflict and peace.

When he left the army he, like many army personnel, Nathan struggled with transition to civilian life. Many veterans will experience mental health difficulties, break downs in relationships, difficulties in maintaining jobs and homelessness to name just a few of the challenges.

Nathan eventually received a diagnosis of PTSD and was lucky that The Royal British Legion was there to step in and help. Many veterans are not so lucky.

Nathan explained: “This affects every aspect of your life: the ability to hold down a job; maintain relationships; manage money; keep secure housing; the list goes on and on…

“The provision of specialist mental health support by the Royal British Legion is one way resettlement can be addressed. It is estimated that 1 out of 10 veterans suffer from depression, this increases for those who are still seeking work but unemployed, under retirement age but unable to seek work, and those with alcohol dependency. This is almost double the rate of the general population’s rate of depression.

“The Battle Back Centre in Lilleshall is part of the Royal British Legion. They specialise in supporting wounded and injured service personnel. This could be in returning to duty or to transition to civilian life. They have introduced a wellbeing course for veterans, which provides a five-day residential programme which has been described by many who attend as life changing.”

Nathan recently attended the wellbeing course and describes it as a lifeline for him at a really difficult period in his life. Diagnosed with PTSD, depression and generalised anxiety disorder, he was struggling to cope with day-to-day life. The course provided Nathan, not only with some time out to learn about himself, but it also offered him ways to explore how to adapt his skills from the army to the civilian world. Tony is hoping to join the course soon.

To give back to such a worthwhile charity, both men want all funds from their challenge to be donated to the Royal British Legion’s Battle Back Centre in Lilleshall, having helped veterans like Nathan and Tony with their mental health they want to help more veterans rebuild their lives.

Nathan and Tony will arrive at Bangor station at 11:20am on Monday (27 September) and then heading to The Slate, Y Llechan at Tal-y -Bont, who have been helping with their fundraising efforts.

“We will be sleeping rough every night as many veterans experience homelessness as part of their transition to civilian life. I experienced homelessness after a breakdown in a relationship due to my mental health”, Nathan explained.

“On Tuesday we will head to Afon Conwy, Brewers Fayer for Breakfast. Again they have been promoting the walk and fundraising for us.

“We will then head down the A55, walking past Suzanne’s Kitchen A55. This is a fabulous roadside van who has been telling everyone about the cause when they stop off for their bacon butties.

“Later on Tuesday we will arrive at the Royal British Legion in Abergele.

“We then undertake a 17-hour walk which will take us on their coastal route, skimming Snowdonia, then heading to Chester.

“By Saturday we will aim to be back in Betley. We will be escorted in by a local bike club and members of the British Legion Riders Branch.”

For more information and updates or to donate please visit the Just-Giving Page Here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nathan-bate2 or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/walking4battlebackuk

Photos: (1) Nathan Bate and friend Tony Sumner, both veterans from the Staffordshire Regiment, will start their 100 mile walk from Bangor to Chester next week.

(2) Nathan on deployment in Kenya, in 1999 when he was 19.

(3) Tony in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1999, where both Tony and Nathan were deployed as part of the UN op Tosca.