Ahead of Saturday's Armed Forces Day, we take a look at the work done by one of our Official Charity Partners - Blesma, The Limbless Veterans.
The Club selected Blesma as a charity partner in honour of the Chadwell Heath-based charity’s work providing rehabilitative activities, support and some financial aid to limbless veterans.
Blesma, The Limbless Veterans became a national charity in 1932. However, the foundations were laid 15 years before then, during World War One.
Some 40,000 British Service men had come back from the Western Front having suffered life-changing injuries. Amputation techniques were in their infancy and artificial limbs primitive.
There was no NHS so, to fill the gap that the welfare state and Defence Medical Services now provides, these men came together as local networks to share knowledge, support each other and lobby the Government for better employment opportunities for the war disabled. These networks united to form the ‘British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association – Blesma’ in 1932.
Although medical practices and opportunities for those who are disabled have come a long way since those early days, there is still a need to support those who continue to feel the physical and mental effects of their life-changing injury.
Blesma exists to guarantee that our limbless veterans are not failed, forgotten or left to fend for themselves. The charity helps everyone from the youngest amputee veterans to those who fought in WWII, some having lived with limb loss for more than 50 years.
Blesma have supported limbless veterans for almost a century and is the only national Service charity that supports limbless veterans for life, offering financial and emotional support to them and their families. Rehabilitation, advocacy, counselling and care are the foundations of what we do.
With your support, Blesma can ensure that our Service men and women, who have served our country and who live with the effects of limb loss every day, can lead independent and fulfilling lives. Click here to find out how you can help.