EAST MIDLANDS - Lt Col Peter Poole

Committee Member Pen Pictures

Lt Col Peter Poole
Peter Poole joined the army as a REME Apprentice in 1963, he subsequently applied for a commission and after Sandhurst was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Transport in 1968.

There followed numerous appointments, as far apart as the Outer Hebrides, Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands and Hong Kong.

Inevitably , after so much enjoyment on returning to UK there followed a number of jobs in the MoD all of which were concerned with the interface of the Army and civilan industry.

His last appointment in the Army was Commander, Advanced Training Wing at the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield, East Yorkshire.

Since leaving the Army in May 2002 he has been employed as the Regional Welfare Officer for the England North East with the Ex- Service Mental Welfare Service.

Interests include Equestrian pursuits, classic cars and motor-cycles, gardening and work with the RASC/RCT Association as Regional chairman, Executive Committee member and Treasurer.

MR Bill Dixon-Dodds
Mr Dixon-Dodds served in the Army for fifteen years reaching the rank of Warrant Officer. He saw active service in Borneo, Malay Peninsula, and Northern Ireland. He also served with the United Nations in Cyprus. He also served in the Middle East, Germany, & North & South America, Since leaving the Army Mr Dixon-Dodds has qualified as a Social Worker being extensively involved with clients suffering from Drugs/Alcohol dependency. Towards the latter part of his working life he became a Senior Manager in the rail industry. In retirement apart from interest in War Pensioners he serves as Chair/Vice Chair on National & County Committees for The Royal British Legion.

Mr R Boyfield
Mr Boyfield is currently working as a Manager of an Advisory Service which involves representing people who for whatever reason need support in their decision making.
He has extensive experience in Welfare benefits and represents people at appeals. Mr Boyfield was formerly a social worker in the Mental Health field.

Mr T Bryant
Mr Bryant served with the Royal Air Force as a Communications Engineer for twenty-six years and has been a Town and District Councillor for twelve years. He has a special interest in Multiple Sclerosis having been a sufferer of the condition for ten years.
Mr Bryant is interested in supporting and assisting ex-service personnel to access their benefit entitlements.

Mr M Crew
Mr Crew devotes much of his spare time to helping others and engaging in charity work. He has worked with the Ex-Service organisations for several years drawing on personal experiences as a disabled person to help, support and understand the difficulties experienced by fellow ex-service personnel.

Mr C Fear
Mr Fear served twenty-seven years in the Army and has been employed by the Royal Air Force Association as an area Welfare Officer for seventeen years. He is actively involved in general welfare work and has a particular interest and responsibility for War Pensions. Mr Fear acts as a RAF Association representative at Pensions Appeal Tribunals in Birmingham and represents War Pensioners and War Widow(er)s in presenting their cases. He is an experienced War Pensions Committee member having served on the local committee for over fifteen years.

Mr D Harding
Served in the Royal Engineers from 1958 - 1992. Since leaving the army he has worked as Welfare Officer with Combat Stress which has involved working closely with this specialised area of ex-service personnel as well as other ex-service organisations.

Mr C Harrison
Mr Harrison has carried out 2 years National service with the Royal Navy, and continues to be involved with the Sea Cadet Corps in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. He retired from employment in 1999 where he held the position of Manager of Kettering branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau. Since retirement, has maintained links with CAB working on a voluntary basis, and is a lay member of the Regional Duty Solicitor Committee.

Mr D Heaps
Mr Heaps is currently the Vice-Chairman Tribunals Representative and War Pensions advisor for The National Executive Committee of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association. He is a member of the Derbyshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and holds various positions for the Leicestershire County Royal British Legion at branch, group and county levels. Prior to retirement Mr Heaps was a Skill Centre Manager for the Government Training Service.

Mr G Hibbert
Mr Hibbert is a disabled ex-serviceman himself and has therefore first hand experience in dealing with others in the same position. He devotes most of his time to working on a voluntary basis with the Royal British Legion, holding various positions including Club Chairman, Branch Treasurer and Poppy Day Chairman, Organiser and Treasurer. He is an elected Tenant Representative of the Derby War Memorial Village and a friend of SSAFA Forces Help with some involvement in casework.

Mr C Streather
Charley served six years in the Army before being injured in an RTA and discharged. He has been the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare representative for Lincolnshire for the past five years, and is closely involved with all aspects of the welfare and rehabilitation of limbless veterans in that area. He is also Chairman of the East Midlands patient led user group at Nottingham City hospital mobility centre, and a voluntary client adviser for Dorset Orthopaedic, a private prosthetics company. More recently he has been involved with Selly Oak hospital and the welfare of troops returning injured from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr R K J Whaley
Mr Whaley entered RAF Cranwell straight from school graduating in 1965. Took voluntary redundancy in 1975. Since then has worked with British aerospace , spent a year at Leicester University for postgraduate studies and went on to teach at Senior School in Leicester. Mr Whaley was then approached by the RAF to return to duties as a QFI and he accepted and became a Specialist Aircrew (Pilot), but was medically discharged in 1993. He now works in the voluntary sector as a caseworker with SSAFA Forces Help and the Royal British Legion. Mr Whaley also assists at the local branch Air Training Corps as a civilian instructor.
SSAFA Forces Help and the Royal British Legion. Mr Whaley also assists at the local branch Air Training Corps as a civilian instructor.

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