Evening News launches Christmas appeal for soldiers in Afghanistan

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 08:53

TODAY the Evening News issues a rallying call inviting readers to help us Treat our Troops – and their Kids – this Christmas. As most of us are setting about our festive shopping, the prospects facing hundreds of city soldiers and their families are very different.

For troops from the Royal Scots Borderers (1 Scots) – formerly the Royal Scots – the festive season will be spent in Forward Operating Base Wishtan, in the remote north-west of Afghanistan.

Under constant threat of attack, their duties have placed them on the front line of the battle with the Taleban, in a region so dangerous it is known by soldiers as "the Devil's playground".

Their colleagues from the 3rd Battalion the Rifles (3 Rifles), based at Edinburgh's Redford Barracks, will be spending Christmas in Helmand, amid one of the bloodiest wars that the British army has fought in recent times. It is a conflict that has cost the lives of 221 British soldiers to date, including a number from the Lothians.

Life for them will clearly be tough enough, but it is at Christmas that the pain of separation from their families will be most keenly felt. And the anguish of having loved ones serving in such a bitter conflict will be felt in homes across the Lothians.

More than 200 city youngsters are facing Christmas without their father, while their mothers are left at home alone to cope, dreading what news the next bulletin from the front line might bring.

Our Treat our Troops – and their Kids appeal, run in conjunction with the Parcels4Troops charity, aims to bring some festive cheer to all our soldiers and their families.

We want your help to lift their spirits, with a simple act of kindness. Donate a simple item from a list drawn up by the 1 Scots soldiers themselves in Afghanistan.

They are basic things that will make life just a little better for them, including sweets – chocolate is out, as it melts in the heat – sauces to spice up army rations and travel wash to make the job of cleaning kit easier.

Your gifts will be transported to the front line in conjunction with the welfare offices of 1 Scots and 3 Rifles and with the blessing of the Ministry of Defence. They will not interfere with the army mail service, which has been overwhelmed by goodwill parcels in recent days. Some donations may not make it until after Christmas so it is important to make sure perishable items have long use-by dates.

To ensure the families aren't forgotten, we aim to throw Christmas parties they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Sergeant Major Cammy Pollock, of 1 Scots, currently on a flying visit back to Dreghorn Barracks from Wishtan, said: "Public support is so important to us. When I arrived back in Britain dressed in my uniform, people were coming over to thank me for the job we're doing in Afghanistan. It felt brilliant."

Alasdair Sutherland, of the Edinburgh-based charity Parcels4Troops, a former army corporal who served in Northern Ireland, said: "I know how important it is to soldiers when they are away to know that they are in the minds of everyone at home. Knowing you have the backing of the public makes such a difference."

LITTLE ALEXANDER'S READY FOR CHRISTMAS WITHOUT 'SUPERMAN' DAD

"WHO'S Superman, Alexander?" Anna Boyes asks her son, a bright-eyed, blond-haired two-year-old who is clutching the arm of a settee as he smiles over at her.

"Daddy!" the toddler laughs, pointing at a picture of his father, 25-year-old Ian McCann, a corporal with 1 Scots in Afghanistan. The toddler later raises a smile as he attempts to pronounce the name of the country where his dad will be spending Christmas.

In their Chesser home, Anna, 24, sits with her soon-to-be mother-in-law, Ian's mum, Shirley McCann, 51.

As Alexander runs through to his bedroom to find a teddy clad in military camouflage, his "Soldier Bear", Anna and Shirley smile as they explain how he always calls his dad Superman.

"Ian's been away on and off since Alexander was born," Anna, originally from Craiglockhart, says. "He was really worried when he went to Afghanistan in September that Alexander wouldn't remember him when he got back.

"There's no chance of that – we talk about him every day and he speaks to him on the phone too.

"It means so much to Ian. He really misses him."

Ian McCann joined the army when he was 16, following in the footsteps of his dad Mike, 53, originally from Portobello, who served as a corporal with the then Royal Scots for more than 17 years.

"I will definitely have a bubble on Christmas morning for Ian," an emotional Shirley, from Niddrie Mill, sighs. "I can't help myself. I will have the rest of the family, but I'll really miss him.

"To be honest, I have been pretty terrible since he went to Afghanistan, but Mike has told me to try to keep things together for Ian's sake, so I am getting a bit better."

Anna, who is due to marry Ian at Edinburgh Castle in May, talks about the Christmas presents she and Alexander have been preparing to send to Ian, including an audio card with a recording of his son wishing him a merry Christmas.

They will add to the food parcel Shirley has made, containing some of Ian's favourite snacks, including Pot Noodles, and Marks & Spencer Percy Pig sweets.

"Unlike Shirley, I'm quite cold-hearted," she says with a smile. "I accept that Ian is in the army and that he will be away a lot. I fell in love with a soldier so it wouldn't be fair to ask him to do anything else. He loves it.

"I feel I have to keep things together for him and our child. It would be no good for Ian if I couldn't speak to him on the phone for crying."

She adds: "I'll be with the rest of my family at Christmas, although it would be so much better if Ian was there too.

"We're really looking forward to him coming home from Afghanistan next year.

"I think a lot of people take for granted what our soldiers are doing – it means a lot to them to have the public's support, particularly at Christmas when they're away from their families."