Veterans are still living with mental and physical battle scars 15 years after the end of the Iraq War, Help for Heroes warns.

Today (Friday 22 May) marks the anniversary of when the last UK troops withdrew from Iraq following the Middle East conflict fought from 2003 to 2011, codenamed Operation TELIC.

A total of 179 British Armed Forces personnel were killed, thousands more were wounded, and many veterans live with the mental and emotional impact of their service.

The military charity was launched almost 20 years ago, in direct response to the lack of proper government support for those returning with severe injuries from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The need for Help for Heroes’ life-changing care grows in an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world.

It has led to the launch of the ‘People’s Promise to Veterans’ campaign, aimed at ensuring all veterans receive the support they need after service focusing on healthcare, financial security and consistent access to support.

Mark Elliott, Founding Member of Help for Heroes and former Grenadier Guards, said: “The Iraq War shaped a generation of veterans and, in large part, led to the creation of Help for Heroes.

“We remember those who served and recognise the lasting impact of that conflict on their and their families’ lives.

“Sadly, then as now, too many veterans tell us that essential support simply isn’t there, and in a dangerous and uncertain world, the gaps in the system are only becoming wider.”

Since 2023, 884 ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen who served in the Iraq war (2003 – 2011) have been supported by Help for Heroes1.

Of the total, 60% are open to support from multiple Help for Heroes’ services and more than half (56%) are seeking specialist help from the charity’s ‘Hidden Wounds’ mental health team2.

Gareth Collett spent more than three decades walking towards danger as one of the Army’s leading bomb disposal experts.

Originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, the former brigadier, 59, who lives in Wandsworth in London, dismantled weapons, commanded multi-national bomb disposal teams and oversaw the exhumation of mass graves. Those experiences left him with the invisible wounds of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

He said: “We have a bow wave of people affected from Iraq and Afghanistan all walking into an NHS system already overburdened with problems they may not understand. Combat changes people, that we know, and those changes are not always visible,” added Gareth, who was made a CBE by the late Queen Elizabeth.

It takes veterans an average of 12.5 years to contact Help for Heroes for support 3. The last active conflict involving British troops was in Afghanistan in 2014, so it expects demand for its specialist services to increase further very soon.

Si Brown, 47, was shot in the face by a sniper when he was called to rescue a stranded vehicle with a crew of six on board, following an insurgent attack.

Si, who had been serving with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was airlifted back to the UK in an induced coma, he ultimately lost his left eye, nasal cartilage and had only 20% vision remaining in the right eye.

He was Mayor of Morley from 2024 to 2025 and elected to Leeds City Council, as well as playing rugby for Leeds Rhinos and captaining the club to double national victory in his final year.

Si said: “Veterans are still here. We may not be at war but many of us need support, sometimes for 30 or 40 years for injuries that happened in only 30 to 40 seconds of chaos.

“My whole life now is about living the moment because, you know, I can speak with more authority than most on that. Tomorrow is not a guarantee.”

Get Help and Support: Help for Heroes - Empowering Veterans | Help For Heroes: [https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/get-help]

ENDS

1 (Help for Heroes, 2026)

2(Help for Heroes, 2026)

3 (Help for Heroes, 2024)

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