Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer has been reaching out to military veterans to let them know that his door is always open should they need any help.
Sir John is himself a former British Army Lieutenant General and soldier in the Parachute Regiment.
He went on to hold top posts like Chief of Joint Operations and Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
‘I hope that during my time on the Isle of Man, as a member of the veteran community, as Lieutenant Governor I hope that I can help them – in whatever way is appropriate,’ Sir John said.
‘I wanted to let them know who I am, and to pull the veteran community together and make it as strong as possible’.
He continued: ‘There are 2,642 veterans on the Isle of Man, according to the last census – of which 35% are under the age of 60.
‘And I think it’s important as well that the general public realises that a veteran is not just someone who served in the Second World War – it’s anyone who has served one day in the military.’
Sir John said that the island’s veterans ranged from men who did their national service during the 1950s and 1960s, to those who served in the Bosnia and the Falklands, as well those of the 21st century.
He told the Examiner: ‘I think that we were identifying that quite a lot of our veterans nowadays don’t want to attend formal monthly meetings where they’ve got to wear a blazer and tie, particularly the younger ones would much rather informality – like just being able to have a WhatsApp group with other veterans.
‘To able to say: “Hey, I’m in North Quay now, I’m going to go to a couple of pubs – is anyone around and wants to come join me?”.
‘And particularly if people are struggling for whatever reasons, the best non-professional people to talk to is another veteran – because they’ve got the shared experience.
‘People in the military tend to speak in a different language, we have a different lexicon, a different level of banter – that sort of thing that if you’ve been in the services you immediately get, whether you’re 20 years old or 100 years old,’ he added.
Sir John said that another purpose of holding the two talks (at the Manx Legion, and then Ramsey Courthouse) was to highlight to them that this community of veterans did exist on the island.
‘Having a better understanding of who’s out there, where the veterans are, connecting them informally or formally [means] if they do need someone to talk to it’s there,’ he added.
‘So if we can just stop one person from harming themselves then it’s worth it.’
Among the group were also emergency service personnel, and coastguard and RNLI members.
The meeting was welcomed by Ramsey Commissioners chair Alby Oldham (also an army veteran), who could not remember the last time a governor had reached out to the military community in such a way.
Anyone who wishes to get in touch with the Lieutenant Governor can do so via:
Telephone: +44 1624 620147