This week, the second group of the year are enjoying the delights of the island and the kind heartedness of the local community while staying at an undisclosed finca in the north of the island owned by a very caring British resident. Apart from a host of activities, the highlight of the week, as always, was a VIP night out at Son Amar courtesy of the owner Margaret Whittaker OBE.
Rosie Thompson, the events organiser for the charity who never stops making sure wounded veterans are entertained and are given the opportunities to continue enjoying life, said: " Margaret has been so generous to us, giving us complimentary tickets each time we visit. The groups have said it is the best night they have ever experienced. We have a group of 18 here from Royal Marines, Green Howard’s, 23rd Pioneer Regiment, Army Air Corps, Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Engineers, REME and two lady veterans from the AGC. All have seen service in Northern Ireland, Iraq 1 and 2, Bosnia, Kosovo or Afghanistan.
"All have served and taken a ‘knock’ in one way or other with various injuries and illness, all service related. They have been overwhelmed with the kindness shown to them by the owner of the finca, the Not Forgotten Association and Margaret. They have been going karting, canoeing, hill walking, painting and relaxing at the beautiful farmhouse."
The third and final group coming out this year arrives early next month for an activity week. It was in Majorca, in the Tramuntana mountains, that a team began their training a year ago for a charity climb up Mount Kilimanjaro which proved a great success.
The Not Forgotten Association is a unique national tri-service charity which provides entertainment and recreation for the benefit of the serving wounded, injured or sick and for ex-service men and women with disabilities. It was founded in 1920. Although records were lost in a fire following an air raid in 1941, the association can be reasonably confident that since its formation about one million serving and ex-service men and women have benefited from its activities.
Throughout its history, the charity has been privileged to enjoy royal patronage. This tradition dates back to 1921 when the first patron, HRH The Princess Mary, invited 600 seriously wounded servicemen for afternoon tea. After her death in 1965 she was succeeded by HRH The Duchess of Kent who remained patron until 2000 when HRH The Princess Royal took over the role; one which she continues to fulfil today.
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Meanwhile in the UK,seriously injured veterans have been refused PIP when they have been moved of DLA,so much for a ''grateful country''. The Veterans Agency are dealing with more pip appeals than ever before and without their help,many disabled veterans would be ''living'' in poverty,not much has changed since Kipling's day.