Army nurse features in poppy appeal campaign

Army nurse Ben Poku is featuring in a Royal British Legion campaign for this year’s poppy appeal.

Rethink Remembrance urges the nation to recognise the sacrifices made by past members of the armed forces, and also today’s generation of service personnel.

After studying at the Defence School of Healthcare Studies, Corporal Poku was deployed to Iraq to treat British, American and Iraqi people.

‘It was a challenge to go over there in a nursing role and apply the training I was doing, but it was a great introduction into becoming a nurse,’ he said. 

Support 

Since 2007, he has volunteered as a case officer for the Legion, which means he is the first point of contact for injured personnel and others who need support.

Cpl Poku recalled a soldier who, like himself, was from Ghana, and had come out of the military after being injured in Iraq.

The soldier was struggling to come to terms with what had happened, and how to tell his family.

The pair travelled to Ghana together to inform his family and arrange care.

Video stories

‘We involved the psychologist to help talk the family and this guy through it. I was worried about how it would turn out, but in the end it was a really happy moment for this individual,’ he said.  

Cpl Poku now works on the neurological ward at Defence Medical Rehabilitation Unit Headley Court in Surrey, supporting injured soldiers.

Cpl Poku’s story is one of four experiences told through an interactive video installation by St Paul’s Cathedral, London. 

Multi-screen columns offer viewers the opportunity to explore the films from different perspectives.

Further information

• How army nurse Ben gives back as a legion volunteer