Former Royal Marines Visit Angus Farm as RSABI Initiative Grows

Three former Royal Marines have spent an afternoon on a farm in Angus as part of an RSABI mental health first aid training initiative. The former Marines, with 86 years of service between them, were put through their paces in the lambing shed by the Jackson family who farm at Southtown of Melgund near Brechin.

During their visit to the farm they fed sheep and lambs, shifted straw bales and heard all about the farm business from three generations of Jacksons – Johnny, Billy and Glenn. They also had the opportunity to inspect Johnny’s pride and joy, a very well- maintained vintage Case tractor! Billy’s brother Johnny is also a partner in the farm business.

RSABI has been working with former Royal Marine Ian Clark Managing Director of  IED Training Solutions, and Major Hugh Jones (rtd) for the past two years as part of the ground-breaking Mental Health First Aid initiative.

The certified training is aimed at encouraging people to talk more freely about mental health, reducing stigma and improving understanding about what to look out for and how to respond when someone may be struggling.

Over the past two years more than 600 people working in the frontline with farmers have been trained through the initiative around the country from Orkney and Shetland to the Borders and Dumfriesshire. Those trained have ranged from vets, Scottish SPCA inspectors and quality assurance assessors to agronomists, consultants and bankers.

RSABI is very grateful to NFU Mutual Charitable Trust which is supporting the training, allowing the charity to continue providing it free of charge. In response to demand for the training, two additional retired Royal Marines, Major Neil Foreman (rtd) and Ross Wilson WO1 (RSM) will join Major Hugh Jones (rtd) to deliver the training in the year ahead.

The aim is to provide individuals with the knowledge to identify the early signs and symptoms of mental ill health. The training will provide advice on how to facilitate a supportive conversation with people who may be experiencing a mental health problem. The skills learned will also help those who take part to understand more about their own mental health.

Carol McLaren, Chief Executive of RSABI, said the innovative training was already making a really encouraging difference in the Scottish agricultural community: “RSABI is delighted to welcome Neil and Ross who are joining Hugh as trainers and our thanks go to Ian and Hugh for all their work with us over the past two years. We are looking forward to continuing to deliver a very strong training programme in the coming year, involving two more former Marines.

“Working with the excellent team of former Royal Marines is resonating really well with those taking part in the training and our thanks go to everyone for the outstanding feedback we have received.”

Organisations or individuals working with farmers or crofters on a daily basis can request the training by emailing mentalhealthtraining@rsabi.org.uk

Ian Clark of IED Training Solutions said he was very pleased with the way the training has been received by the Scottish farming community which is benefitting from some excellent work by the former Royal Marines to reduce stigma and improve understanding of mental health.

“We are delighted to be continuing this work with RSABI. It is very rewarding for us to see the training being so well received and to start to see the cascade benefit of hundreds of trained mental health first aiders now on the ground in the Scottish agricultural community,” said Mr Clark.

RSABI provides emotional support, including a free counselling service, as well as practical and financial support. The free, confidential support service is available 24/7 by calling 0808 1234 555 or using the webchat service on the RSABI website.

This initiative builds on the charity’s #keeptalking campaign to encourage people to look out for each other during the winter months and a new Thrive mental health app which is available free of charge and can be requested by calling the Helpline number.