Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Here's your chance to help the soldiers who bravely risk their lives and get injured defending our families and way of life. We owe a special debt to soldiers with amputations and PTSD from Afghanistan and Iraq. The charity is run by James Palmer Tomkinson and supported by Prince Harry and Mike Tindall. All your money goes straight to the charity as I'm paying 100% of my own costs.

We all know someone who's been injured in war. My father Tim had his leg amputated in a naval battle and had what would now be recognised as PTSD from seeing his comrades die, incessant severe pain and feeling useless, until he learnt to walk again with a false-leg. Inspired by Douglas Bader's golf-with-no-legs, Dad was lucky and managed to overcome his depression, was helped into employment and loved playing tennis and dancing again. After several career false starts, Dad planted an apple orchard in Suffolk and farmed successfully until his death forty-years later, climbing ladders and sharing life's laughs and tears with family, friends and all the workers from what became an extended family of the local Suffolk village communities.

Amputees enjoy a dark and robust humour. Dad's early legs were Heath Robinson contraptions. He had to be strapped in and they clanked and hurt when he walked. Thanks to excellent care and support early-on, Dad learnt to love life again and participate to the full. He wore shorts unashamedly, laughed uproariously at the rudest jokes, danced dangerously and loved good company, cheap wine, beautiful women and practical jokes.

Here's how you can help our modern-day Afghanistan and Iraq heroes.  Skiing for Heroes takes soldiers with amputations and PTSD to Klosters to ski...and then to race!!!  Our Vodafone Vertical Victors team are fund-raising and will be their buddies. 

If these heroes get to share just some of the spirit and support so generously given to my Dad by the Roehampton Limb Hospital, then hopefully they too can be inspired and start to re-build their lives, families and careers ..... alongside all the rest of us.     

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.