Comment: Let healing begin for the veterans in daily crisis

It is 40 years since we went to war with Argentina to regain the Falkland Islands. We won and we are about to commemorate that victory 8,000 miles away in the South Atlantic.

Yes, it was a remarkable achievement of political bravery, logistics and above all human courage. But there was an enormous cost: 255 British military personnel died along with 649 from Argentina and three Falkland Islanders.

But what about those who survived, especially those from the Royal Navy who watched shipmates die in the most horrific of circumstances or suffered burns themselves? What psychological torment do they still endure to this day?

Since then, of course, there have been two Gulf wars, a Balkan war and a forever war in Afghanistan, each with its own horrors leaving scars mental and physical.

These men and women must never be forgotten and in the past, there was perhaps a tendency to cast them out of mind and let their suffering continue, apart from an annual appearance on Remembrance Sunday.

Today things are different. We live in a much-altered society, a touchy-feely world alien to many older people. The days of the stiff upper lip and keep-calm-and-carry-on mantra have gone from everyday life. But it still exists in the military and continues for the men and women who become veterans.

Which is why we hope the more compassionate side of modern society, as highlighted by support network Veterans Outreach Support, is a success. So many different organisations brought together under one umbrella is a marvellous idea and those running it have those logistical skills to make it work.

Let the healing begin.