[A] wounded veteran from Cumbria was among a team of wounded and injured veterans and serving personnel, supported by Help for Heroes, that created history at the weekend, when they took part in Scotland’s first ever Para Highland Games, in front of Prince Charles.
Over 2000 spectators watched the team compete against para athletes from America and Australia at the in the Mey Highland Games in John O’ Groats on Saturday (August 4).
Former RAF Fireman, Paul Metcalfe, was a member of a Help for Heroes team that competed in the Mey Games at John o’ Groats. The smallest of Scotland’s Highland Games is run by the local British Legion in aid of veterans. HRH Prince Charles is Chieftain of the Games and, like his grandmother before him, is a regular attendee. Having enjoyed the success of the Invictus Games, created by his son Prince Harry, the Duke of Rothesay (as he is also known), invited Help for Heroes to enter a team into specially adapted classes of the traditional sports such as tossing the caber, hammer throwing and shotput.
Paul, who is in the process of moving from Haweswater to Penrith, was one of the first to sign up.
“Through Help for Heroes, I have taken part in several physical activities, all of which have helped give me a positive outlook and the impetus to move forward with my life,” said the 53-year-old.
“I saw the Highland Games as a way to be part of a team again, something I have missed since leaving the military, as well as a way to experience new opportunities and make new friends at the same time – all of which add to the fabric of my life!”
HRH Prince Charles was keen to meet and chat to each of the para Highland Games competitors – an unexpected bonus for Paul.
“He is a lovely man and very funny. He said I had some ‘very interesting’ tattoos!
“My favourite event was the shotput which I haven’t attempted for nearly 40 year,s but my abiding memory will be of the atmosphere and camaraderie. There was no rivalry – the Americans, who are professional Highland Games competitors, coached us and cheered us on and I have come away with friends from all over the globe.
“I have never felt this good since I left the Forces. I have regained my sense of being and of belonging.”
As a result, Paul is keen to take up the invitation of the US para Highland Games team to go to America next year and participate in one of their events. He and some of the others in the Help for Heroes team are now seeking sponsorship to enable them to do so.
As a child, growing up in Windermere, Paul had two loves – aeroplanes and fire engines. His father was a fireman and, whenever he heard a siren, Paul would run out of school to watch his Dad drive past. For as long as he can remember, Paul was determined to combine his interests and become a fireman in the RAF. Once trained, he spent time in Canada, the Falkland, Cyprus and Iraq during the first war there.
“I loved it! We were responsible for protecting the Air Force’s assets and also, just like civilian firemen, for cutting out people trapped in vehicles only, for us, that included tanks and ‘planes,” said Paul.
“It was a very serious job – if a plane crashed, you had just three minutes to get to the scene and create survival conditions to get them out alive.”
A car accident put paid to Paul’s dream job. Damage to his back led to him failing the required fitness tests. But the biggest impact of his medical discharge in 2004 was on his mental health. Already prone to anxiety and depression, this began to deteriorate. It wasn’t until 2016 though that he was diagnosed with several mental health disorders, including complex PTSD, relating to the very first aircraft crash that he had attended – a Tornado that had failed as it flew above the Royal Sandringham estate. The co-pilot had managed to eject but the pilot hadn’t.
By the time he was diagnosed, Paul’s business as a Fire Safety risk consultant had failed, his marriage had broken down and, having left the family home in Dorset, he lived in his car until his sister Sarah insisted on him returning to the Lake District to live with her.
It was also Sarah who, following a chance meeting with another Cumbrian veteran being supported by Help for Heroes, contacted the Charity and asked if they could help her brother.
Since then, Paul’s quality of life has improved beyond recognition. As well as receiving psychological support from staff at Help for Heroes Recovery Centre in Catterick, North Yorkshire, he has embraced every opportunity that has come his way through Help for Heroes. In addition to the Highland Games, he joined a group of fellow injured veterans to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks in a day and competed in a baking competition hosted by former Great British Bake Off contestant Sandy Docherty. He is now in training to walk the Coast to Coast.
“Help for Heroes has given me a sense of purpose and made me challenge myself and become a better person,” said Paul.
“Phoenix House Recovery Centre is a safe place where no one judges you and where it feels like all members of staff, whatever their role, are there for you. They made me realise that you don’t benefit from sitting on your backside feeling sorry for yourself but by getting out and about and getting involved in activities.
“I’m enjoying the physical activities especially. They have given me a positive outlook and the impetus to move forward with my life.”
Paul is also a keen maker and painter of white metal military scale model vehicles which he sells at specialist fairs, and is Editor of Flashpoint – the RAF Fire Service magazine.
“My motto is ‘don’t strive for happiness: go for fulfilment’ and, with support from Help for Heroes, I am able to do that!”
