The RAFDHT and HPB: a natural fit

It’s not hard to see why. The Trust, as its name implies, was set up to provide much-needed holidays for RAF personnel who, in one way or another, had suffered a life-changing injury or illness. Their families too, as having a family member who’s in some way disabled affects not just that individual, but the whole family unit. As DHT co-founder Ros Hall (married to John, an RAF pilot who had suffered cataclysmic injuries ‘in the line of duty’) reasoned: these folks needed holidays as much, if not more, than the rest of us. What the DHT needed was a holiday provider – an organisation that could offer consistently high-quality holidays to people whose health was, to say the least, compromised – be it through accident, long-term illness, or any condition which might be covered by the catch-all term ‘disability’.

Suffice to say, our two organisations found each other, and established a lasting partnership. The RAFDHT remains HPB’s charity of choice, as well as our biggest Bondholder, with an annual Holiday Points allocation enabling the Trust to book dozens of HPB holidays each year.

The Trust’s Bondholding continues to grow. Each year, several Bondholders choose to support the DHT by transferring or bequeathing all or part of their Bonds, adding valuable Holiday Points to the Trust’s coffers. (As the DHT receives your full annual Holiday Points entitlement, the gift is much more valuable to them than surrendering your Bond and passing the cash value to the charity.)

Our commitment to raising additional funds for the Trust is ongoing. Each year we raise thousands of pounds for the DHT through a combination of fundraising efforts, including  sales of our Christmas card. And we continue to look for new ways to do more: be it by increasing efforts to tap into HPB Bondholders’ generosity, or anything else we can think of in support of this most worthy cause.

But meanwhile, let’s meet just one of the many Royal Air Force Disabled Holiday Trust beneficiaries, for whom the DHT and HPB have provided the most welcome of breaks…

Fifty two-year-old Luke Delahunty joined the RAF Regiment in 1990, beginning his career in the Queen’s Colour Squadron, before serving as a Senior Aircraftman with 1 Squadron at RAF Laarbruch. His career was in full swing. However, in the mid-1990s life as he knew it changed forever when he was paralysed in a catastrophic bike crash.

“It was the end of my military career,” Luke says. “I was only 24 years old.” After a year staying in rehabilitation hospitals and centres, Luke moved into an adapted home in Hillingdon, near his first posting in RAF Uxbridge.

Adjusting to life in a wheelchair has been challenging at times for Luke, but his zest for life has remained. “I worked in design for a newspaper, learnt how to scuba dive and became a scuba instructor in Egypt for a year,” he says. “I’ve also competed in events such as the London Marathon and the Invictus Games.”

Luke now lives in Gosport, Hants, with partner Tracy and her three children, plus Pebbles the dog. He has trained as a driving instructor and hasn’t let his RAF fitness slip – he still enjoys getting on a bike (a hand-cycle), and once cycled from London to Paris. He regularly visits primary schools as part of Great Athletes, a social enterprise running energetic events to encourage kids to be more active.

Luke has enjoyed a number of HPB holidays over the years, including a memorable break in Shropshire. “I went with Tracy, the kids and the dog, and we stayed at Upper Norton,” he says. “It was a lovely two-bedroom cottage, with a fully accessible ensuite wet room. We did some sight-seeing, visited the local distillery, and went shopping around the local area.

“It’s always a worry for me when travelling that the accommodation won’t be accessible,” Luke continues, “but I never have to worry with the DHT and HPB – I have had three holidays over the years, and they have all been wonderful. It was a fabulous break, and I look forward to booking my next one. Cornwall, Devon, Scotland… who knows? But the anticipation is part of the pleasure.”