About - I Needed To Be Needed

Myself

The principal content of this web site relates to my brain injury, recovery and career.

I decided to create a separate area for me to publish some random other stuff – material purely about myself.

My Father

My father was born in south-eastern Poland in 1927. The Soviet Union invaded his homeland from the East in 1939, shortly after Nazi Germany triggered World War II by invading from the West. In 1940 he was shipped on a cattle train to a Soviet labour camp in Siberia, where he remained until the Nazis redirected their aggression towards the Soviet Union. Following this event, my father served with the Polish free army in Palestine. Subsequent to the end of World War II, he came to live in England and gained UK citizenship.

I wrote an article for a creative writers’ club encompassing part of what I knew of my father’s war-time experience, as well as citing wider events and pertinent matters in his life.

My Niece

My niece, Emma, wrote about her perspective on some of the events which unfolded following my injury.

I think of Emma’s story as a thumbnail critique of what happens inside a loving family when confronted with a traumatic event.

Francis Hamlett

I wrote a little about a man who was a good friend to me, the phrase larger than life would be a good way to precis Frank. I’ve also included a tribute from his loving family.

Roy Smith

My friend Roy was a retired senior construction engineer, who through curious circumstances spent much time engaging with the rich and famous during his career. My favourite anecdotes of Roy’s are:

Being the best friend of Oliver Reed while they were on National Service duty
His witnessing Fidel Castro with tears in his eyes, as he hugged severely injured Cubans returning from war in Angola
Prince Philip making a typical ‘politically incorrect’ joke to Roy on the Royal Yacht Britannia

Roy was always happy to be considered an ordinary guy; regardless, he had a fascinating life story to tell.

Greg Weston

Greg is a friend who suffered a severe brain injury in 2011, from something as seemingly trivial as tripping over on a pavement. Among numerous items, Greg’s page contains a video of his brutally honest appraisal of his personality changes during the early days of his recovery.

Greg gains much contentment from helping others, which is evident from some of the charitable endeavours he’s undertaken.