BLESMA member Colin Rouse Receives MBE

Colin Rouse was made MBE in Her Majesty's New Year Honours List for Services to BLESMA. This much deserved recognition for his huge contribution to our growing rehabilitation activity has been widely welcomed across the Association.

 Colin joined BLESMA in 1999 shortly after losing his leg. As he was known to be a keen sailor some equally keen Members immediately asked him not only to join the Association but take on a project to skipper a BLESMA all amputee team in the 2001 Fastnet Race - and he never looked back. Since then he has thrown himself into all activities and bought his tremendous enthusiasm and his organisational skills to bear - not just in sailing but in every field of activity and his leadership and wise counsel has been put to great use. Having led the BLESMA ski team to North America, skippered a determined all amputee crew on a 65 foot yacht across the Atlantic twice, he is already planning further rehabilitation challenges for our growing number of young casualties who join us from Afghanistan and Iraq. Colin was elected onto BLESMA's Board of Trustees in 2007 where his experience and innate wisdom is much appreciated. The award of the MBE is richly deserved.