Help For Heroes - Patrons

Patrons

The patrons are:

Hero Patrons

• Johnson Beharry VC - a British soldier of the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment who, on 18 March 2005, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth armed forces, for twice saving members of his unit from ambushes on 1 May and 11 June 2004 at Al-Amarah, Iraq. He sustained serious head injuries in the latter engagement.
• Major Peter Norton GC - a British officer with the British Army's Royal Logistic Corps who was awarded the George Cross for his service in Iraq.

Founder Patrons

• Jeremy Clarkson - British broadcaster and journalist who with his wife, Francie, is a founder patron. They have been involved with helping servicemen and women at Selly Oak Hospital and Headley Court. His effort led to the 2007 Christmas appeal in The Sunday Times supporting H4H.
• General Sir Richard Dannatt - Former Head of the British Army
• Richard Benyon - Politician and Conservative MP for Newbury
• Air Vice Marshal John Ponsonby OBE FRAeS - former senior commander in the Royal Air Force, and current Senior Vice-President Training, AgustaWestland

Patrons

• Ross Kemp - a BAFTA award-winning English actor, and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Has spent time with British troops in Aghanistan filming Ross Kemp in Afghanistan
• Sir Ian Botham - Former England Cricket Captain and current cricket commentator
• Sgt Mark Sutcliffe - serving with the 2nd Battalion ("The Poachers"), The Royal Anglian Regiment. He lost his left leg in Basra in July 2006 after being hit by a Rocket-propelled grenade.
• WO2 Andy Newell - serving in 16 Air Assault Brigade. In July 2006 his right arm was shattered in the bitter and prolonged fighting at Musa Qala in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
• Chris Holmes MBE MA - British Paralympian who, prior to the 2008 Summer Paralympics, was "Britain's most successful Paralympic swimmer", having won a total of nine golds, five silvers, and one bronze medal at the Paralympic Games. He is on the board of UK Sport, the Disability Rights Commission and was an Ambassador to the London 2012 Olympic bid.
• Andy Stockton - served with 32 Regiment Royal Artillery for nearly twenty years reaching the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2). He served three tours of Northern Ireland, three tours in Iraq and in Afghanistan. He lost his arm during an ambush by the Taliban in Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on 11 June 2006 and was medically discharged from the Army on 23 September 2007.
• Alan Brooke, 3rd Viscount Brookeborough - Northern Irish peer and landowner. He is one of the 92 hereditary peers who remain, for life, in the House of Lords. He joined the British Army in 1971, serving in the 17th/21st Lancers until being transferred to the Ulster Defence Regiment, which was to become the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1993, and became Honorary Colonel of the 4th/5th Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers in 1997.
• Lady Victoria Leatham - daughter of David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter. She was Honorary Colonel of 158th (Royal Anglian) Transport Regiment from 1996 until 2003. She was the chatelaine of Burghley House from 1982 until her retirement in 2007 and is also one of the "experts" on the BBC show, Antiques Roadshow.
• James Blunt - English Acoustic/Folk rock singer-songwriter, and former officer in the Life Guards, who also served under NATO in Kosovo during the Kosovo War in 1999.
• Monty Halls - a former Royal Marines officer who is now a marine biologist, television presenter, writer and diver. He has also led a number of expeditions throughout the world.
• David McDonough OBE - a trustee and honorary advisor to a number of charities with close links to the Royal Hospital Chelsea where he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Chelsea pensioners' Appeal. He runs a communications consultancy in St James's in the City of Westminster.
• Andy McNab DCM MM - former soldier in the Royal Green Jackets and then the SAS with whom he served in the Gulf War. He commanded the Bravo Two Zero patrol on 22 January 1991 which was given the task of destroying underground communication links in Iraq and mobile Scud launchers. Three of the eight-man patrol were killed, one escaped and four were taken prisoner by the Iraqis and tortured over a six-week period. He has since written a number of books and appeared in Andy McNab's Tour of Duty, a documentary television series about the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War in 2008. He was the most highly decorated serving soldier in the British Army when he left the SAS in 1993.
• Ken Hames - a former British SAS officer who now works as a television presenter and motivational speaker.
• Anneka Rice - television presenter who has worked with the forces for many years, who also helped her on the Challenge Anneka television series a number of times.
• Major Phil Packer - was injured in a rocket attack in Basra on 18 February 2008. He lost the use of his legs and was told he would never walk again. However, he completed the Flora London Marathon in April 2008, walking 2 miles a day over a 2 week period.
• Peta Todd - is a glamour model featuring in page from the Sun's page 3 to FHM's 2008 Calendar. She has been a supporter from the start and was involved in the 2008 H4H Big Battlefield Bike Ride. She will be running the 2010 London Marathon for H4H.
• Lydia Cross - In 2003, when she was two years old, Lydia contracted meningitis with septicaemia. After being placed on life support and suffering multi organ failure she pulled through. But, after countless operations, she had to have below knee double amputations. Lydia, now 9, never lets her disability stop her doing what she wants. She wanted to raise money for Help For Heroes and decided all on her own to do a sponsored swim - it should have been 20 Lengths but then on the day with Matt Kingston and family and friends cheering her on she swam 64 Lengths in 64 minutes (1 mile) raising just over £13,500. Lydia and her family organised a 1 mile run/walk in Braunton to raise money for H4H, the sponsorship of which went towards Matt and Ben’s 2010 marathon total. Ben and Mark Ormrod both came to support Lydia on her 1 mile run along with hundreds of people. In August Lydia and the rest of her family will climb Pen y Fan to continue their H4H fundraising.
• Ben McBean – On 28 February 2008, Ben was on foot patrol in Afghanistan when he stepped on a land mine. As a result, he lost his left arm and his right leg was amputated above the knee. A little over a year after being wounded, Ben took part in the 2009 London Marathon and raised money for H4H. Despite being in unbearable pain from his prosthetic, Ben completed the marathon in 6 hours and 15 minutes. Since then, he has completed many challenges, including trekking to Everest Base Camp on the Khumbu Challenge and running the 2010 London Marathon, beating his time from the previous year.