You may remember as far back as May, yes, last month.
We ran a competition to find out who you considered to be the Heroes/Heroines in your lives.
The feedback we received was remarkable, it was very heart-warming and humbling to read the nominations put forward.
What is a hero/heroine? Well, the Cambridge dictionary puts it simplest of all: a person who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something great. And that’s exactly who the four selected nominees are.
Our first competition winner was Bradley Godkin, a member of the United States Airforce. His family really got behind him with this nomination, so much so that it would’ve been hard to ignore the Cambridge dictionary definition of being a hero.
The second is Tim MacDonald, formerly of the Royal Air Force and Standard Bearer for the RAF in Norwich. Tim was nominated by his good friend Alan, who had nothing but good words to say about him. Tim, thank you for your continued service and good work in the veteran community, you are indeed a hero.
Lee Rulton was our third nominated winner. Lee is a former Royal Engineer, having served with 59 Independent Commando Squadron RE. Lee recently embarked on a fundraising event to raise money and awareness for PROMPT Maternity Foundation, whose training undoubtedly saved the lives of his wife, Hannah, and their baby during childbirth. Lee walked the entire Southwest coast, covering 630+ miles in just 19 days and managed to raise a whopping £14,880 (correct at the time of writing this). A selfless and giving hero indeed.
Ben Parkinson MBE was our fourth and final nominated winner for the month of May. Ben Parkinson MBE is a former British paratrooper, veterans’ campaigner and author. He is the most severely wounded soldier to survive the War in Afghanistan. Both his legs were amputated, he broke his back and suffered lasting brain damage when the Land Rover he was travelling in struck a landmine in 2006. He defied his doctors’ expectations by learning to walk and talk again and regularly raises money for veterans’ charities. His case forced the Ministry of Defence to significantly increase compensation pay-outs to wounded British soldiers. Ben, you are indeed an inspiration to us all and we salute you.
We think you’ll agree that the four nominated winners should indeed be considered to be heroes by the very definition of the word, including our own perceptions of what a hero might be.
We thank you all for your selfless commitment, and sacrifices, and wish you all the best for the future. Our only hope is that the beer you will all receive from DropZone Brewery is worthy.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this competition, and the fact there are so many who we feel deserve all our appreciation, we will be running another competition, so watch out for announcements on our social media channels.
