BLESMA Attends Operation Banner Service in St Paul's Cathedral

BLESMA Members were among the 2000 veterans of service in Northern Ireland, and their families, who gathered in St Paul's Cathedral in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on Wednesday 10th September.

The special service of commemoration marked the end of Operation Banner - the Army's 38 year tour of operational duty in Northern Ireland, which finally came to an end in July 2007. The Northern Ireland conflict resulted in the death of 763 soldiers, while many suffered serious injury including 60 who became BLESMA Members.

Among those attending were National Chairman Colonel Henry Hugh Smith LVO, who lost an arm in 1972, General Secretary Lt Col Jerome Church MBE who lost a leg also in 1972 and Paul Burns who lost a leg but survived the sad events of Warrenpoint in 1979.

Jerome Church said, "I hope I speak for all my fellow Members who were injured serving our country in our country. We remember dreadful things happening and we did our best to prevent worse happening and of course our own our lives changed completely as a result. But more importantly we honour the memory of those who gave so much more than we were called to give - who never came home. We are proud we served."