Help for Heroes

[Noddy]

I'm sorry this is a long post, but I really would like to bring this to your attention.

I suffer badly from PTSD due to a few incidents I was involved in during my service in the Royal Marines.

It has been found that beekeeping helps with PTSD as it brings peace and quiet while learning new skills in a calm environment, without stress, and helps in learning coping mechanisms which can be translated into everyday life. It also helps mental health by allowing one to develop mindfulness (look it up ).

Because of this, Help for Heroes now offers Beekeeping courses to those with injuries and illnesses sustained while serving in the British Armed Forces.

I had been interested in beekeeping for many years, but never got around to taking it up. Last year, I was motivated by an old mate of mine to take up beekeeing as part of my mental health wellbeing, and I have been given great help in this by the East Dorset Beekeepers Association, partcularly Mark White, who I cannot thank enough. I am just finishing my first full year as a beekeeper.

I have just returned home after spending the last four days at the Help for Heroes recovery centre at Tedworth House, where I attended the first basic beekeeping course to be run by H4H. There are three hives at Tedworth House, and I think one or two at H4H's Plymouth recovery centre.

The course tutors were Jon G'eden and John Perry. Jon G'Eden is a bee farmer from Hayling Island, running with approx 150 hives, and John Perry is a Hampshire BKA tutor. Both gave their time free of charge. Jon G'eden runs his own company, called Sinah Common Honey, and offers training courses as part of his buisiness.

The course was really enjoyable, and I met some good people there too.

We were lucky enough to have a talk by Dr Ivor Davis, Master Beekeeper and NDB, past President of the BBKA. At the course, we were given the BBKA Beekeepers manual, donated by the BBKA, which Ivor co-authored and kindly signed for all course members.

Help for Heroes are offering a practical assesment some time in May or June, which, all being well, I will attend.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I'm telling you because I would like to place on record my thanks to those mentioned, and the wider Beekeeping community, for all their help, support and understanding in getting me set up as a beekeeper, and giving me the knowledge and practical ability to be (hopefully) a good beekeeper.

Beekeeping has been a great help with my PTSD, and I would whole-heartedly recommend that others with the same or similar conditions look at beekeeping as not only a very satisfying hobby, but as part of their mental health wellbeing.

I am very enthused about beekeeping, and, in the longer term, I intend to follow the BBKA training plan to become a Master Beekeeper.

Thank you all.

 

[B+.]

I suffer badly from PTSD due to a few incidents I was involved in during my service in the Royal Marines.

That has got to be a massive understatement Noddy. Massive respect for what you and your comrades have done, and continue to do, to keep us all safe.

 

[Millet]

That has got to be a massive understatement Noddy. Massive respect for what you and your comrades have done, and continue to do, to keep us all safe.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

I'm sorry this is a long post, but I really would like to bring this to your attention.

I suffer badly from PTSD due to a few incidents I was involved in during my service in the Royal Marines......................................


May one compliment you on how well you have articulated the effects of what you experienced as a R.M. and express appreciation for your sacrifice.
The best of luck and every success to you in the future.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

As others have said we all owe our service men and women a great debt and I add my thanks to theirs.
Regarding the bee hives and colonies, it is a very steep learning curve when the initial theory is translated into practical, hands on situation. The majority of new beekeepers need a mentor who can work with you, demonstrate handling, advise, reassure and discuss the problems that inevitably arise. I hope this is factored into the scheme but if you are struggling to understand a particular aspect you encounter it can be helpful if you seek clarification from other experienced beekeepers. It may be that a different way of wording makes matters clear. But (and it's a big but) sometimes conflicts of opinion between "experts" arise and instead of making everything clear confusion abounds.
We have seen many such conflicts of opinion or even poor/bad advice given to beginners, causing colonies to fail and enthusiasm wither.
I suppose what I'm saying is follow one mentors advise as long as he/she are knowledgeable but if anything doesn’t sound logical don't be afraid to ask for explanation or reasoning behind their methods.
Lastly, good luck and we'll follow your progress if you keep us updated from time to time.

 

[B+.]

I suppose what I'm saying is follow one mentors advise as long as he/she are knowledgeable but if anything doesn’t sound logical don't be afraid to ask for explanation or reasoning behind their methods.

The guy on the scene is right most of the time because he/she can see what we can't.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Noddy, we owe people like you a huge debt and I'm glad you have found that bees give you solace and peace.
My Father was in the Polish Air Force and flew Spitfires for the RAF, demobbed at the end of the war having had friends burned to death in their cockpits, he was left with a few quid and a new suit in a foreign country. My uncle was in the navy and spent his war on the North Atlantic convoys having survived one sinking. When war ended he chose to return to Poland where he was promptly arrested by the Russians and ended up in a Siberian work camp for three years.

Thank God there is some support for our military now and I wish you well for your future.

One last thing, don't forget to strap those hives down!
(I'll get my hat............)

 

[Gilberdyke John]

The guy on the scene is right most of the time because he/she can see what we can't.

There are exceptions. We had a guy join this group in 2012 as a complete beginner. He was digging himself an ever deeper hole by listening to local "beekeepers". Finally JBM had to conduct a virtual correspondence course and mentor service which got him on the right track. This seemed pertinent hence my post.

 

[user 6228]

The generation that is just disappearing now, had more sufferers of PTSD than is commonly appreciated.
In my village a survivor of El ALamein (R.E. Mine detection) was known to be severely affected by the war.
Of my uncles: One was was severely effected in later life and became one of the homeless (Captain Merchant Marine, mined once, torpedoed twice, Atlantic Arctic and Far East) The other was traumatised (aviation tanker, torpedoed open boat 21 days South Atlantic aged 17) but appear to recover and later became a ships master.
My mother: had "nerve troubles" ( A Clippy on the Dock road route in Birkenhead had her bus blown over by blast, and her depot destroyed with most of the drivers).

If one ordinary Liverpool family had this, how many more were out there?

So when you see some old buffer muttering to his bees there might be a deeper, darker story there.

 

[pargyle]

The generation that is just disappearing now, had more sufferers of PTSD than is commonly appreciated.

If one ordinary Liverpool family had this, how many more were out there?

So when you see some old buffer muttering to his bees there might be a deeper, darker story there.

So true Derek - we just did not appreciate or understand the effects of stress beyond anything one would normally expect to endure in those times. Indeed, even admitting to being affected was often considered as 'weakness' and those who must have been suffering - probably throughout their lives - may well have concealed the symptoms.

Being of an age where I was growing up in the immediate post war years I can look back and see that some of the characteristics exhibited by members of my family and their friends and colleagues who lived through the horrors of WW2 would now be construed as PTSD. Too late for them now - even the youngest ones who were there are now in their late 80's or 90's.

 

[dpearce4]

On Radio 2 last week Paul Makenna claimed that he has come up with a cure for PTSD with a London hospital.

If this were the case how come H4H and the other charities that deal day in day out with people suffering with it arnt shouting it from the roof tops?

 

[Erichalfbee]

The generation that is just disappearing now, had more sufferers of PTSD than is commonly appreciated.

My mother: had "nerve troubles" ( A Clippy on the Dock road route in Birkenhead had her bus blown over by blast, and her depot destroyed with most of the drivers).

how many more were out there?

So when you see some old buffer muttering to his bees there might be a deeper, darker story there.

So true Derek
My mother was taken from her family at the age of 17 and forced to work first in a German munitions factory then as a cleaner and cook on the German front lines. God knows what else.....she was a pretty girl
She suffered with "nerves" all her life. I wish I had understood more and been able to help her.
It's her birthday today and she would have been 92.

 

[Noddy]

The hardest part of PTSD was admitting to myself that I had it, and telling others due to the stigma that had been attached to it for for many years. I was undiagnosed for 28 years, and then treatment for military/combat PTSD was non-existent.

Things have only improved over the last few years, and thankfully, the stigma appears to have been drastically reduced. It pains me though, that the treatment for veterans is all done by charities, such as Combat Stress and Help for Heroes, not by the NHS/Government, which I find disgusting.

I have been mentored over the last year by Mark White, the vice-chair of the EDBKA, who's help and advice has been brilliant. He keeps telling me that he's just on the end of the phone, and as he only lives half a mile away that he'll nip over any time I need help

Thanks for all your comments, they are very encouraging.

 

[MartinL]

It has been found that beekeeping helps with PTSD as it brings peace and quiet while learning new skills in a calm environment, without stress,
I was motivated by an old mate of mine to take up beekeeing as part of my mental health wellbeing,
Thank you all.

I'm sure you must also be acquainted with the saying that "God was airborne", (having fallen short in other areas)?

Whilst I donate to help for heroes, I must admit I haven't actively participated in anything for them.

Main reason for my post is that; (not sure what the availability of potential Apiary locations is in Warwickshire) our village allotments area, (very Quiet area between Stratford on Avon & Warwick) is only 75-80% in use.

I'm sure that the Parish Council wouldn't be opposed to a handful of local "Retired-Booties" digging in there if they were to grew the odd vegetable as well?

 

[Noddy]

I'm sure you must also be acquainted with the saying that "God was airborne"

Because he failed the Commando course lol

 

[B+.]

There are exceptions. We had a guy join this group in 2012 as a complete beginner. He was digging himself an ever deeper hole by listening to local "beekeepers". Finally JBM had to conduct a virtual correspondence course and mentor service which got him on the right track. This seemed pertinent hence my post.

I know what you mean. I had a similar experience last year with Scammells bees. His mentor had managed to kill the queen during an inspection.
However, I would still say that its far easier to diagnose a problem if you're actually standing with the hive infront of you than working from someones recount of the facts (as they remembered them).

 

[SDM]

I remember John Geden From my RMP days. Good to here this is up and running

 

[Erichalfbee]

What's an RMP?

 

[B+.]

What's an RMP?

http://www.army.mod.uk/agc/provost/31344.aspx
Miltary Police...Actually, my grandad was an MP during WWII...They were sent ahead of the allies to secure Belsen (so the advancing allies didn't kill all the germans when they saw what was going on there).

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ah thanks
I was thinking along the lines of RCMP.......silly me