#DavieNoLegs A sodger, a Black Watch sodger.
It won't come as a surprise to many of the people who are reading this but for 12 years i served in the Black Watch, throughout my service i was incredibly fortunate, i truly believe that throughout my time in the army i served alongside some the best people i have ever known. Those people, although they may not know it, shaped the way i see and do things today. It is this experience that has given me the drive to support those who have been injured whether that is physical or mental. I am off the opinion that regardless of the amount of time one chooses to serve, if the person has taken the oath, then they deserve all the support that is available.
In 2005 i was able to join a bunch of Black Watch lads in South Africa, for 4-weeks we travelled the length of the country visiting Kruger national park in the North and Cape Town in the South and a whole bunch of places in between, we visited the famous Rorkes drift and touched the tip of the highest point in the Drakensberg mountains. It was a great time, and yet another example of the pros of being in the military, in what other walks of life would one get the opportunity to visit such an amazing country.
During this trip the group got to know each other well, we shared stories and beer and maybe even a dram, after all it would have been rude not too. Davie Birrell (3rd from the left in the picture) was one of the guys i shared this experience with, a great bloke respected by all who knew him; he was a formidable jock and carried forward the traditions of a true fighting sodger. In 2010 he was struck in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strike which resulted in him losing both his legs. He would be the 1st to admit that things were running pretty close, thankfully he's still with us and rather than withdraw into the shadows he refuses to allow his injury to define him, throughout his recovery he has found solace in racing cars, and by all accounts he is pretty bloody good.
He is putting together a website and utilises the benefits of social media to increase the coverage of his exploits he does this, not for sympathy, but to acknowledge the support of his sponsors and supporters.
As we move into 2016 Davie has new aspirations, he wants to go faster, he wants to be better and he wants to be the best. Inevitably there comes a cost and it is for this reason i have produced this post.
If you, or your company, would be interested in supporting Davie throughout 2016 then i implore you to get in touch, i can provide an introduction and i know that he would be ever grateful to anyone who takes the time to get in touch with him. He a true workhorse and will undoubtedly repay the support offered to him.