Veteran best friends to join charity delegation at Cenotaph

Chris Brogan from Corfe Mullen and Royston Wright from Verwood, who have been best friends since meeting in the Royal Marines, will join a delegation from Help for Heroes at the Cenotaph Parade and Remembrance service in London on Sunday, 8 November.

Chris, who turns 75 the day after Armistice Day, will be joined by his pal and ‘unqualified helper/carer’, Royston Wright, 72, for the second successive year, as they pay their respects to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their nation.

They will join around 10,000 others from the veteran community at the Cenotaph Parade to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Chris served with the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) before participating in an exchange programme with the Special Boat Service (SBS), part of the Royal Marines, before transferring permanently, as a sergeant, to the SBS, in Poole, in 1986. He was medically discharged, in 1991, because of an injury he suffered in March 1989.

He first contacted Help for Heroes in 2014, when he was working part-time with the Special Boat Service Association. And the charity has supported him following a T9/T10 complete fracture – destruction of the thoracic vertebrae, which can lead to spinal cord damage and neurological deficits.

Chris said: “I am thankful for the assistance given to me by Help for Heroes and it’s an honour to join other veterans who have also benefited from the charity’s support.

“I am marching in respect for those in the Forces – whether Australian or British – who were killed in action or on training, and also out of respect for their families. And this is why Remembrance Day is so important – we should not forget those who gave everything in defence of their nation.”

Royston, originally from St Athan, in South Wales, joined the Corps aged just 16 and served for 22 years, with 41 Commando and the SBS, seeing action in Oman and the 1982 Falklands War.

He said: “My association with Help for Heroes stems from my friendship with Chris and the major assistance offered to him by the charity. That has carried on to this day. I try to accompany Chris where possible as a friend and ‘unqualified helper/carer’.

“I’ve also seen first hand the support Help for Heroes has given many other service personnel and the major differences it has made to their lives.

“We will march for all military personnel past and present, but, specifically, for the Corps of HM Royal Marines and dear personal friends, who are no longer with us. It will be a very emotional experience.

“It is still so important to remember the fallen, both of our Armed Forces and the thousands of civilians that Remembrance Sunday honours.

“Remembrance Sunday must be preserved to continually support our living veterans, too, while also reminding the younger generation of what was sacrificed for them.”