"The Fund’s support has given me a normal life following a life-changing injury"

After more than a decade serving in the RAF as an Air Frame Technician, including deployments to the Falklands and Kandahar, Steve Green suffered a life-changing injury that could have impacted his family’s entire future. However, thanks to the RAF Benevolent Fund, a safe, suitable, and accessible home – and a sense of stability – became possible.

Joining the RAF in September 1999, Steve trained at RAF Halton and RAF Cosford before spending most of his career at RAF Lyneham. Steve said: "I was due to leave the Air Force in September 2011,” adding, “but everything changed one day on my way to a job interview."

A serious motorcycle accident, just ten miles from home, left him with multiple fractures and a shattered spinal cord. Steve said: "I hit a signpost under my right armpit. I fractured all my ribs – they were detached from my sternum. I was awake the whole time. Luckily a nurse saw the accident and helped, and I was airlifted to hospital."

Steve spent a month in intensive care in Bristol, followed by months of specialist treatment at spinal unit and rehabilitation centre, Headley Court. 

“There was a period of a few months following the accident where things were tight financially,” Steve remembered. "I couldn’t work, money was low, and we couldn’t afford a deposit for a suitable home. We were still in military quarters, but rent had gone up because I wasn’t serving anymore."

That’s when the relief came. Steve said: "About six months after surgery, I found out the Fund would support us. It was a massive weight off my shoulders. I knew I wouldn’t be homeless."

Coming from a strong RAF family – with a father who served 22 years, a grandfather who served in the war, and a brother-in-law also in the RAF – Steve had always known about the RAF Benevolent Fund. However, it wasn’t until he was referred by the chief clerk at Lyneham and a SSAFA representative that the support became personal.

Initially, the Fund helped his family secure a suitable home near their children’s school and his former partner’s job. "After house-hunting for a while, we found a house in the perfect location, so we contacted the Fund straightaway to see if they could make an offer."

The RAF Benevolent Fund purchased the home through its Housing Trust, then adapted it to meet Steve’s needs. Steve said: "They adapted the house so I could use it with a wheelchair, with ramps at the front and back so I could get into the garden.

"A through-floor lift was installed so I could get upstairs, the bathroom was turned into a wet room, and the kitchen had adjustable worktops."

As his needs evolved, so did the Fund’s support: "They’ve helped with maintenance and repairs, including most recently fixing a circuit breaker I couldn’t reach. It’s the little things that make a big difference."

The impact on family life was just as important for Steve. He explained: "It meant I could bathe the kids, I could play with them in the garden, and I wasn’t restricted to one floor of the house. It gave us a normal life."

Steve added: "It was a massive relief knowing that in a dire time of need, the Fund stepped up. I knew I wasn’t alone, and the Fund will continue to be there as and when I need support."

Now working as a Civil Servant for the MOD designing aircraft engineering courses for the Army, Steve is keen to pay it back to the Fund. He said: "I am a volunteer for the Fund and my former partner, who saw first-hand how the Fund supported us as a family, is a Station Champion at RAF Lyneham, attending events on behalf of the Fund to raise money and awareness. My 13-year-old son is also a volunteer photographer and attended Cosford Air Show recently to take some images for the Fund. It’s important for us all to give back."