Forces charity comes to the aid of former soldier

Dec 29 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

AFORCES charity has come to the aid of a former soldier who lost a leg when his helicopter was shot down during a fierce gun battle in the Middle East more than 40 years ago.

Jim Keightley was just 21 years old when he had to have his right leg amputated following the incident in which the Army helicopter plunged into a ravine and caught fire while he was serving with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers in Aden in 1967.

Since being forced to leave the Army after less than four years’ service, he has learned to live independently with an artificial limb at his home in Cramlington, Northumberland, working as an engineer with a local chemical company for more than 20 years.

Recently Jim, 62, had been finding it increasingly difficult to get in and out of his bath and has fallen on a number of occasions, once cracking some ribs.

Now forces charity SSAFA Family Help has stepped in and eased his plight by having the bath removed and installing a walk-in shower for the divorcee at a cost of £3,000.

It is an example of how the organisation helps and supports many ex-servicemen and women – and their families – who have made sacrifices for their country.

Jim was serving with Y Company of the RNF as part of a British Army peace-keeping force in the Aden Gulf, whose task was to keep warring Arab factions apart.

He and his colleagues were on their last day of internal security duty when the incident happened which changed his life forever.

An uprising broke out at Army barracks in the town of Crater and Jim and two colleagues saw the fighting below as they flew over the area in a helicopter towards an observation post.

Jim recalls: “Just as we were flying over the place, they opened up on us with heavy machine-gun fire.

“The pilot was hit and the chopper started to spin. The next round took the rotor blade off and sent us spiralling down into a gulley where we crashed. At that point both my legs were hanging off and the Arabs were trying to get to us.”

Jim was rescued by another helicopter but, although his left leg was saved, surgeons had to amputate his right leg above the knee.

He moved to Cramlington after leaving the Army but found in recent years that his artificial limb was making it more and more difficult to get in and out of the bath to have a bath or shower.

“Major Brian Finlayson from SSAFA Forces Help rang and asked how I was getting on, so I told him I was struggling a bit with the bathroom and small bath.

“I had fallen getting into the shower and cracked ribs on one occasion.

“I said it would be nice to have a walk-in shower, so he managed to arrange it all and get grants to pay for it.

“It has made a vast difference to me and it is much safer and more economic since I had the bath taken out.

“Without people like Brian Finlayson and organisations like SSAFA, there would be a lot of ex-servicemen much worse off than they are, because the Government doesn’t give us much help.

“I could not have afforded this without their help and I am very grateful.”

Major Finlayson, who is a welfare representative with SSAFA Forces Help, said: “Jim is one of my welfare clients and he said he was having lots of problems with his bath.

“We cannot allow anyone to struggle like that when they have served their country like Jim has.”