“MY shed saved my life,” says Chris Morgan simply. He means it literally. Like many who have served time in the armed forces, on reverting to civilian life, he found he couldn’t cope.

His shed – and the woodwork he did in it – stopped him from doing the unthinkable. “I lost my wife in 2002 to cancer and it triggered a reaction,” he explains.

“I hit rock bottom. I’ve always been interested in woodwork and I was able to go in the shed and just potter with it. It was my safe place.”

Shocking as it is, Chris’s story is by no means unusual. Of the veterans he works with through his group, Veterans Woodcraft, all bear the physical and/or emotional scars of having taken part in active service.

Most have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – an ongoing condition for which many are on medication – and all, according to Veterans Woodcraft artist Ted Granger, have, at some point, contemplated suicide.

“A lot of lads kill themselves,” he says bluntly. “We pretty much all know someone who has killed themselves. I’ve had thoughts about it. I would pretty much say that all of us have thought about it.”

Fellow artist Bob Taylor nods in agreement. Having left the armed forces and found another job straight away, he thought he’d made a seamless transition into civilian life – then, driving to work one day, he had a breakdown. “I thought, I’m going to kill myself,” he says. “I realised what I was going to do when the bonnet of my car was halfway under the truck in front. That’s when I realised there was something wrong.”

Under a psychologist’s questioning, it emerged that the incident that had triggered this had happened 25 years previously. This delayed reaction is, again, typical. “I came out of the army in the mid-90s and found that the transition to civilian life is rather difficult. It’s nearly impossible,” says Ted.

“Everything in civilian life is pretty much 180 degrees to what it is in military life. If you had a problem, you didn’t actually tell anybody and if you did, it was a sign of weakness.

"All that gets buried and you can’t talk about it to anybody. It wasn’t until 12 years after I’d come out of the army that I was diagnosed with complicated PTSD, triggered by multiple events.”

From his own experience of woodcraft as therapy, Chris realised it might be of benefit to other veterans, similarly struggling to find their places in civilian life. Having met a new partner and moved from Brighton to Yorkshire, he set up a workshop at Phoenix House, the recovery centre at Catterick Garrison, teaching basic woodwork. As well as learning new skills, he wanted to encourage veterans to engage with others.

“The aim behind Veterans Woodcraft is the guys come to us to learn skills but also to get back into the community,” says Chris. “The guys go out and deliver training sessions. We’ve worked with schools, the Brownies, other veterans and civilian groups. Because we have similar problems, we get on well with those with mental health issues. One of the comments we’ve had is it’s not what you teach, it’s how you teach. We’ll work with anybody – in the nicest possible way.”

It is this willingness to reach out that led to Veterans Woodcraft securing Jodie Kidd as its patron. The model and racing car driver was an ambassador for Help for Heroes and, as a thank you, Ted made her a plaque. She got in touch – and the rest is history. “It took about point four of a second for us to like each other,” smiles Chris. “We did some work for her and got to know her really well. A month ago, the guys went down for another weekend and she said she would be honoured to be our patron.”

Having outgrown Phoenix House – though it still has a presence there – the group is now based in Richmond. It’s become a community interest company, which gives it greater flexibility, including being able to apply for grants, and there’s even an online shop. A proud moment was recently being commissioned to make a drinks tray for the Queen’s bodyguard.

The current focus, however, is an exhibition at the Durham Dales Centre, in Stanhope, as part of celebrations to mark the end of the First World War. The centre is run by Business Durham, the economic development organisation for County Durham, working on behalf of Durham County Council.

Centre manager, Oscar Watson, said as soon as he saw their work, he was determined to put it on show.

“I’ve been involved in the arts a long time and I was prepared to be forgiving because they’re amateurs, but when I saw the work I was blown away,” he says. “I was looking for an opportunity to present it here. I think the work speaks for itself and the fact that they are veterans and most of them are dealing with issues makes it all the more impressive.”

Timed to coincide with St George’s Day, on April 23, the display will run for a week, with pieces ranging from pens to plaques, and everything available to buy. There will also be demonstrations by veteran artists – another means of encouraging them to interact.

All participants are still struggling with the after-effects of being in service – which makes the high standard of their work even more remarkable. What truly marks the scale of their achievement is the fact that many had no previous experience of woodcraft.

“Most of the guys hadn’t done any woodwork before they came along and were really self-taught,” says Chris. “We’ve also had some help from professional wood turners and carvers who have given their time freely to support our veterans. We’ve had Tony Wilson, who’s a wood turner but also a wheelchair user, and, through him, we’ve managed to adapt our turning lathes for wheelchairs; and probably the top carver in the country, Michael Painter.”

“There’s something about wood – I don’t know whether it’s because it’s tactile. It’s just brilliant,” says Chris. “I think for me personally now, the nicest thing is the fact that I can pass on skills that I’ve learned to someone else, and also it’s payback for the time I spent in the forces. To see someone who’s made a pen come off the lathe so pleased – it’s almost as good as taking a tablet.”

“PTSD and similar things steal things from you – your dignity, your pride, your focus – but you can get these things back,” reflects Veterans Woodcraft member Matt Wightman. “We constantly challenge ourselves,” adds Bob. “We want to get back to being as normal a person as before the illness took us and it’s an ongoing fight.”