My tragic Jamie never got the help he needed — support the Poppy Appeal and others will
HAUNTED by the images of mutilated bodies he saw while risking his life as a soldier in Afghanistan, Jamie Davis would wake up screaming in terror.
The former Rifleman was just 19 when he served in war-torn Helmand Province in 2008.
There he saw children brutally killed and his commanding officer blown up by a landmine.
Having struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder for more than a decade as a result, Jamie desperately needed help.
But tragically he didn’t get it in time — and he took his own life in January this year, leaving behind heartbroken wife Alicia and their sons Brandon, 11, and nine-year-old Freddy.
In an emotional interview with The Sun in support of our Poppy Star appeal, Alicia says she hopes the funds raised from this year’s collection will provide more vital services for ex-servicemen so that no one else has to live through an experience like hers.
“But he just couldn’t handle it any more. He spent ten years having nightmares and living through panic attacks during the day and it got to the point where it was intolerable.”
The Royal British Legion runs programmes to support veterans with PTSD and other mental health problems and those who struggle with homelessness or addiction as a result.
Its Veterans’ Gateway service provides a 24-hour help and advice hotline and can link former service personnel with forces charities.
In 2019 the organisation spent £49.3million on services to improve the lives of the Armed Forces community in the UK and worldwide but the charity expects to make just half of that this year due to coronavirus.
Alicia, 35, from Christchurch, Dorset, says: “The Royal British Legion has helped hundreds of soldiers with PTSD and mental health issues and Poppy Appeal money will help even more struggling veterans.
“They put their lives on the line for their country and deserve our help when they need it.”
Jamie was 18 when he met Alicia in a nightclub in 2007 — the year he was sent on a tour of duty in Iraq.
It was love at first sight and the pair were engaged a month later.
‘THE BIGGEST CUDDLE’
Alicia recalls: “You just know when you’ve found something amazing. He had beautiful blue eyes, an infectious smile and the cheekiest laugh.”
With Jamie due in Afghanistan later that year, the couple brought forward their wedding to August.
Despite being told she couldn’t have children, Alicia got pregnant the following year and recalls: “Jamie jumped over the bed and gave me the biggest cuddle. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat.”
Brandon was born in November 2008, with Freddy following in 2011.
But being a dad made the things Jamie saw in Afghanistan even harder to take.
Alicia says: “His section was in charge of clearing out villages that had been attacked by the Taliban.
"Once, a dad with a small child in his arms walked up to the gate, begging for help, but his son was already dead, with missing body parts.”
Jamie himself was injured when shrapnel struck his arm, knee and buttocks. He also saw his section commander’s legs blown off by an IED, or improvised explosive device.
How to be a poppy star
THE pandemic may have stopped thousands of sellers from hitting the streets — but it doesn’t have to stop you from buying a poppy. MIKE RIDLEY looks at some of the ways you can do your bit for the appeal by going to:
- Fundraise for appeal: Move to Remember and the 11/11 Challenge are among the fundraising suggestions from the appeal itself. Free fundraising packs on the website will give the help and support you will need.
- Poppies in the post: Help make up for the reduced number of volunteer collectors by requesting 20 poppies free of charge from the RBL — and then giving them to friends and family yourself in return for a donation.
- My poppy run 2020: Run, walk or jog any distance, anywhere and at any time. Get family and friends involved to raise cash. And buy a T-shirt to run in and a medal to give to yourself afterwards!
- Visit the poppy shop: There is an extensive range of products from poppy pins and jewellery to clothing, stationery and homeware. All profits fund the Legion’s work in supporting the Armed Forces community.
- Make online donation: Alternatively, you could just visit the British Legion’s website and make a donation. You can choose a one-off payment or set up a regular amount — and no amount is too small.
…OR POP INTO YOUR LOCAL SAINSBURY’S, TESCO, ASDA, ALDI OR MORRISONS AND BUY A POPPY
Alicia says: “He survived but it was one of the things Jamie found hard to deal with, because he was the one scanning for IEDs, and his commander was behind him.”
Jamie left the Army in 2014, so haunted by the sounds and sights of battle that fire alarms or crowded spaces would trigger panic attacks.
The only job I’d ever known was the Army. When I got told it was ending, it was like someone saying, ‘You’re going to die tomorrow’.
Mike Kiff
Alicia says: “He didn’t want anybody to deal with the things he’d seen so he just bottled it all up. I didn’t press him because I knew he would only talk when he was ready.
"I knew the worst memories had something to do with children because he couldn’t stand to see blood on either of the boys if they cut themselves.”
Three years ago, when his frequent night terrors and screaming in his sleep began to affect the boys, Alicia pressed him to get professional help.
But Jamie said the counsellor provided by his local health service could not handle what he was telling her, and it did not work out.
His problems got worse — and on January 10 this year Jamie was found dead in his van.
Alicia, who was given the news by police, says: “My heart broke in that moment.”
The mental health needs of former service personnel can be complex — which is why the British Legion fundraises to provide specific services.
Among those it has helped are Mike and Linda Kiff, who recently celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary with kids Stephen, 13, and Isabella, 11.
Ex-corporal Mike reckons that without the Legion, he would certainly be divorced — or dead.
He says: “I was in a very dark place. I started to think, ‘If I end my life, the family would be better off without me’.”
‘GAVE ME NEW PURPOSE’
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Mike, from Bournemouth, Dorset, dislocated his shoulder while installing signalling equipment at an Army base in 2005.
He recovered but in 2014, while posted in Kabul, Afghanistan, the injury flared up again and the pain was so bad he had to be sent home.
Mike says: “Because of the pain I knew it was serious and my mood changed. I became quite aggressive, emotional, and wasn’t really coping.”
Back at base in Hereford, Mike was told his injury was so bad his Army career was over.
I can’t save him — but I can try to save others.
Alicia Davis
He says: “The only job I’d ever known was the Army. When I got told it was ending, it was like someone saying, ‘You’re going to die tomorrow’.”
Mike’s mental health spiralled downwards and the Kiffs turned to the British Legion, which offered him a short break at its Brydon House Personnel Recovery Centre in Sennelager, Germany.
There, the Army Welfare Service were on hand 24 hours a day to talk to Mike about everything from his depression to his money worries.
He now works as a civilian instructor teaching fibre optics to military personnel and says: “If it wasn’t for the staff at the residential centre I think I would have probably gone on and committed suicide.
"They saved my life and gave me a new purpose and confidence.”
It’s a happy ending that Alicia wishes for others in her position — which is why, like the Kiffs, she urges Sun readers to be Poppy Stars.
She says: “With the pandemic stopping the sale of poppies, the problem of PTSD could get worse.”
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Nine months after Jamie’s death, she is determined to make a change and says: “I can’t save him — but I can try to save others.”
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- Donations for Alicia's Soldier's Haven are on
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