Help for heroes
From Brigadier Peter Macdonald (Rtd Sir: When in 2001 I heard that many of the men living on the streets in Bristol were ex-servicemen (Mary Wakefield's article. 'Lions betrayed by donkeys', 26 April), I wrote to a member of the Army Board telling him how appalled I was to learn this. He replied that the Board was aware of the problem and was looking into what could be done to alleviate it. Later, I learnt that several regimental associations have literally millions of pounds in their funds.
In 2002 I was told by a serving officer in the Adjutant General's department that little progress had been made in trying to use these funds for the benefit of such men because those concerned refused to part with the money they controlled. Since it was put there in the first place by the officers and soldiers in the regiments and corps concerned, it seems scandalous to me that their money should lie idle when a concerted effort could result in the setting up of rehabilitation centres in all the major cities in the nation, where ex-soldiers could be welcomed, retrained and readied for civilian life instead of ending up on the streets, where some become part of the drug-taking culture.
Many men join up, as has historically always been the case, because they come from a broken home or are escaping from a difficult domestic situation: they have nowhere to go to when they end their service — hence the problem. (The operative word there is `service'.) Money is available from sources other than the overstretched defence budget, and should be put to good use, Peter Macdonald Bristol
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