Disability Pride Month: Celebrating our Ambassadors

To celebrate Disability Pride Month this July, we highlight the unique challenges of three RAF Benevolent Fund Ambassadors who have used sport to regain independence following life-changing injuries. 

RAF veteran Bob Greig was serving as a parachute jumping instructor when his parachute failed resulting in him falling almost 6000ft from a helicopter. Bob miraculously survived the fall but dislocated and shattered his jaw and suffered severe spinal injuries.

The Fund has supported Bob practically and financially since 1984, so that he can live independently in a bungalow.

Almost 40 years on from his accident, Bob has dedicated his life to challenging perceptions of disability and co-founded a charity which facilitates skiing and sailing for those with disabilities. 

Bob said: “I wanted to give something back and inspire and encourage people with disabilities to engage with other activities and remind them that their life was not constrained to a wheelchair. 

“Sport offers a level of freedom, independence, and enjoyment to people with disabilities which is not always possible in a wheelchair. When this is combined with the extra benefits of fresh air and healthy exercise, nothing really comes close.”

Former RAF Regiment Gunner, Stuart Robinson MBE, was on a routine patrol when his vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The strong force of the explosion threw Stuart 30 feet from the vehicle. Stuart endured the loss of his lower left leg and severe damage to his right leg and arm.

While recovering in hospital he took the difficult decision to have his shattered right leg amputated. Stuart underwent intense rehabilitation at Headley Court where he had access to a specially adapted mountain trike which not only provided mobility but assisted in his rehabilitation and physical recovery.
Seeing that the trike would improve his quality of life at home and allow him to play with his son George, Stuart approached the RAF Benevolent Fund for assistance in buying the trike.

The Fund supported Stuart with housing adaptations, helping him to remain independent and providing funds to pursue wheelchair rugby at international level. Stuart won his first Paralympic gold with the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby team at his first Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020. 

Stuart said: “The RAF Benevolent Fund has always been by my side during my days of coming to terms with my disability. Enabling the access needs for me and my family at my home was vital for me to progress and accept my disability.”

Speaking on what Disability Pride Month means to him, Stuart said: “Before I was even injured, the spotlight the London 2012 Paralympics brought on disability helped to break down barriers and the discrimination people with both visible and invisible disabilities face. 

“If we can change the conversation and raise awareness, we can help shift public perception of how people with disabilities are viewed around the world.”

Dan Pelling is another Ambassador who received support from the Fund when he needed it most.

In August 2000, aged just 20, Senior Aircraftman Dan Pelling was involved in a serious hit and run accident, which left him paralysed from the chest down. 
Keen to remain independent, in 2003 Dan became the Fund’s youngest Housing Trust occupant when he moved into a bungalow close to his family. The property had been adapted to have step-free access, as well as an accessible bathroom and kitchen. Since then, the Fund has been by his side to support him and his family. 

Dan said: “I am extremely positive about my life because I have three really important things: my family, my friends and the Fund. If I didn’t have just one of those things life would be really different. I have met other people in my situation who do not have the support I have, and it seems to me they have not come to terms with their disability like I have, and how their life has changed.”

The Fund has also been able to help Dan pursue new interests like basketball and wheelchair rugby by helping to pay for the specialist wheelchairs he needs to compete. Dan has risen from being a team player to coaching at the Sussex Tigers basketball club. 

Dan said: “I play sport for the fitness aspect as well as the social aspect. It’s good to be with other people in a similar situation with similar disabilities. Seeing people come out of their shell, becoming more confident, starting to embrace their disability rather than being put down and feeling down by it, is amazing. I never thought I'd be this kind of guy."