A FORMER medic who was blown up by a landmine while serving with the Royal Navy Special Forces is helping to spearhead the launch of this year's Poppy Appeal.

Ian 'Roger' Bannister, 78, the president of the Stockton and Yarm Royal British Legion, was once blown up serving in Cyprus.

He said that the Legion is needed more than ever and helped more than 220 veterans in the Stockton area just last year, including providing a pair of shoes to one veteran.

Mr Bannister, who will launch the appeal at a special service of remembrance at the Pavilion Shopping Centre, in Thornaby, at 2pm on Saturday, October 25, explained he was trained to deal with injuries of soldiers involved with the Cyprus dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots between 1957 and 1960.

He recalled: “It was all about guerrilla warfare and you never knew what was going to happen next.

"I had a very close escape after we drove over a pressure mine just outside Platres, a small village in the mountains.

“I was passenger in a Jeep and we had just left a monastery where around 40 soldiers were based when we drove over the mine.

“We were blown out of the Jeep and the driver suffered a broken pelvis. Fortunately I had just had burns and grazing to my backside and was otherwise unhurt. But it was a hell of a shock. And believe me; it leaves you rocking for a good while afterwards.

“After Cyprus we had the Suez Crisis and I ended up at Aden, on the Red Sea, in what is now Yemen. A lot of injuries I had to deal with there were from small arms fire, .22 ammunition, which wasn’t anywhere near as bad as high velocity rounds.

“I was in Aden between 1962 and 1963 and was involved in a number of infiltration patrols into Yemen which were always difficult. We withdrew from Aden in 1964."

After leaving Royal Navy in 1966, Mr Bannister joined the police service and served for more than 20 years as a detective and firearms instructor with Cleveland Police.

He said: “The idea that the Royal British Legion is all about a few old blokes sitting in a pub sharing stories is long gone. It’s now all about the welfare of former services’ personnel.

“Help ranges from the need for a new pair of shoes as the ones the former serviceman had were full of holes and falling apart and he simply hadn’t the money to replace them, to someone needing a washing machines or a fridge as theirs has broken and was beyond repair.”