Burnham man Don Rawling volunteering in Ukraine

Don Rawling, 60, from Burnham found himself amongst the war in Ukraine earlier this year and since February, he has been back and forth to support them.

Having served with 3 Para in the Falklands War, Don has a strong military background.

He visited Ukraine for his 60th birthday in February and eventually made his way back to Burnham.

Don was asked to return in March, where he helped to train soldiers on a volunteer basis.

He returned to the UK in the summer to watch his daughter sail in the world championships in Weymouth.

Taking humanitarian aid and military clothing with him, he went back to Ukraine to help.

He said: “Due to the horrors and sadness I witnessed in Izium I have again returned home briefly to be enveloped by the innocence of my daughter and the love of those around me before I return.

“I drove back in a transit van that was purchased by four of us with humanitarian aid.

“I flew home this time taking the train to the Polish border and another train to Krakow.

“I am driving back in a Mitsubishi Shogun which we bought with donations.

“Again I'll be taking back humanitarian aid and afterwards I will be donating the vehicle to a reconnaissance unit I am very close to who I have spent a long time training.

“They had hundreds of men with no training and a lot of them were on the frontline.

“I went to the frontline, which is called zero and trained snipers to get them ready.

“We were the first people in the city of Izium, it was a 12-hour drive from Kyiv and we went there and back twice with humanitarian aid.”

Don came back home to visit his daughter Charlie, 14, to get a break from the things he witnessed in Ukraine.

He said: “I had to come back to the UK to get away from everything I had seen.

“My daughter Charlie is only 14 but she is wise beyond her years.

“She has dealt with my PTSD and she understands the person I am.

“I am in this calm loving universe here and in the warzone over there.

“I am so proud of the men I trained and the people I am working with.

“We are right in the danger zone and my daughter understands all of that.

“She told me she was going to miss me, I think about her every day, she is my best friend.

READ MORE>>> 'I went to Ukraine for my 60th birthday, five days before the war began'

“I am going back on Saturday to continue to train soldiers and bring military aid.

“We saw what happened to people with no heating, no doors, and cooking in little pots.

“There is nothing left and no food but in the big cities,s it’s like there’s no war going on.

“Some are living with nothing and it makes me cry to see it on a daily basis.

“There are people with no water or heat and it’s only getting colder.

“I don’t think people are aware of what it’s like over there, people have nothing.”