For the first time a small band of Veterans, supported by Help for Heroes, will march as a group alongside 10,000 others taking part in the annual Cenotaph Service in Whitehall, London on Sunday 12th November.
40 Ex-service men and women, including Rob Shenton from Biddulph Moor, Staffordshire, will march alongside their former comrades in the Cenotaph March Past, after being invited by the Royal British Legion.
Former Army Major Rob served for 21 years and was medically discharged in September 2016 at the age of 44. He was diagnosed with depression in 2000, as well as PTSD. Rob puts his mental health challenges down to tough operational tours of Afghanistan.
Major Rob said “The biggest challenges were realising I was actually ill, then convincing other people. Just because you look fine, does not mean you are not hurting”.
“Being discharged from a job I loved made me feel a failure and a disgrace to my military friends. My moods became volatile. Thankfully I’m not aggressive to anyone else but I can hit a low at any moment. Some days thoughts of wanting to end my life are foremost in my mind”.
