San Francisco Frontiers - UK military vets rebuild lives carving Viking longboat

"It is not about a boat, it's not about wood. We're making boats, but we're actually rebuilding people," Bob Marshall told AFP at the project's workshop in Darlington, northeastern England.

A former soldier who served in both the Falkland Islands and Northern Ireland, he has kept the project running through every setback since it was launched in 2019 to support veterans' mental health recovery.

Now like a phoenix, a longboat christened "Stormbird" measuring 30 feet (nine metres) went on view for the first time at a Viking festival in northern England this week.

The project was originally run by the military Help for Heroes charity from a rehabilitation centre at the army's Catterick Garrison in northeastern England.

It began using wood donated from an oak tree chopped down in 2018.

But when the pandemic hit and funding was cut in 2020, it looked as if its future was doomed.

Faced with walking away or somehow finding new premises and working on an unpaid basis, Marshall opted to "get on with it", pouring his own funds into the project to keep it afloat.

"Stormbird", which is sea-worthy though so far untested, is one of the star attractions at the JORVIK Viking Festival in York.

Visitors can marvel at its historical accuracy and expertly crafted woodwork, including decorative features such as carved roses and a mythical dragon-like creature.

More than 60 veterans have worked on the boat, some of whom suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"Every time I come down here I just crack on and I just forget," said Angie Reid, 58, although she did not want to elaborate on her experiences.

The former army medic, who has added decorative work to the boat's gunnels, said issues of mental health and even suicide were very real for ex-service personnel.

- Destructive thinking -

Marshall said difficult "mega" projects like the longboat helped crowd out the destructive thinking that plagues PTSD sufferers.

"If you get PTSD... it's a big powerful thing. It needs knocking out, it's got to be moved aside so the only way you can move it is taking a bigger target," he said.

"It's such an engaging project that they think about it at night and if you're thinking about woodwork at night it's putting bad thoughts to one side."

Veteran Kevan Blackburn recounted how his wife always says he's in a "better place" after being in the workshop.

"It's just getting out and mental health-wise it's just helped so much... you feel in a happier place than you were before," he told AFP.

Marshall said the project also offered the camaraderie veterans missed from their time in the forces.

One -- the sole survivor of a helicopter crash -- had been "transformed" by the project, said Marshall, recalling how he gradually opened up after refusing to engage with people around him.

Others had successfully seen their confidence restored, opening the door to lasting new job opportunities.

But he remains on tenterhooks if participants stop coming.

"You think you haven't heard from them for a week, you don't know if they are in a ditch somewhere.

"We've got three that we brought back from there this year and they're doing ok, as far as ok can be."

His sense of humour has been crucial to the project's success.

"You just can't let them down -- because every time veterans get a promise, that gets broken. Once the cordite leaves the battlefield, soldiers are soon forgotten," Marshall said.

- 'Rebuilding people' -

After a 26-year army career, Marshall instinctively knows how to connect with ex-service personnel.

It's a style of straight talking -- combined with "rude language" and "dark humour".

"They want to be told it as it is. And we say 'we can't fix it, but we can fix the next 20 minutes and see how we get on from there'."

Signs on the workshop wall sum up the no-nonsense approach.

"If something here offends you, please let us know -- we can all use a good laugh," reads one.

Although the boat is finished, the project is far from over. After the York festival it will be used for a planned fundraising blitz so another heritage boat can be built.

F.Garcia--SFF