Help For Heroes - A Hero's Welcome

Simon Brown will be visiting the Education Village on 14th October to raise awareness for Help The Heroes, a charity set up to help soldiers injured through war and their families.

I was introduced to Simon at an army and navy rugby match in Twickenham in May 2009. I was humbled by his story of bravery and courage and asked if I could have my photo taken with him. He agreed and we started talking.

In 2006 Simon - a mechanic - went to the aide of an army vehicle on the outskirts of Basra which had broken down carrying six army personnel. The vehicle was under attack by sniper rifle and one of the bullets hit Simon through the side of the head. He was left blinded and lost his sense of smell and taste. Simon would need at least 100 hours of surgery over the next two years to reconstruct his face.

As the bullet entered Simon’s head he knew he had received a life threatening injury, yet his quick-thinking saved his life. Miraculously he managed to create an air hole by lodging his thumb in his mouth before loosing consciousness. He was in a coma for seventeen days.

During a television interview Simon was asked if he regretted joining the army. "If what happened to me saved the life of six men then I would go through it every day". He jokes: "I was never that good looking to start with!"

When you meet Simon and talk to him his positive attitude towards life is abundantly clear. He is not giving up! Simon is due to train to be a teacher as he still has the ability to pass on his skills and knowledge of engineering.

I told Simon that I worked in a special school with children of all types of learning disabilities and wanted to make them aware that disability can happen at any time in life and not just from birth.

Simon Brown and other members of the Armed Forces, will be supporting teachers and staff on the 14th October to deliver workshops covering four main topics, ambition, teambuilding, bullying and image.