Ex-soldier facing homelessness in one-man protest at Black Country cenotaph

Today he survives on £2 a day and is facing the prospect of starting the new year homeless.

The 57-year-old from Oldbury has been diagnosed with PTSD, struggles with depression and is haunted by flashbacks of the time he was almost blown up by the IRA.

Unable to work, he has increasingly struggled to make ends to meet, to the point where he could soon be out on the streets having been served with an eviction notice by his landlord.

Greg says he has applied for council housing but has been told he’s not eligible because he’s in rent arrears.

His housing benefit goes directly to his landlord but is not enough to cover his rent. Another £85 comes out of his disability benefits. This leaves him with around £50 a week before other bills and food are taken into account, meaning he has been struggling to keep his head above water.

Greg says a Personal Independent Payment (PIP) application was turned down. He lives alone and has no immediate family he can turn to.

He says it is only thanks to the Royal British Legion that he has been able to keep going and that without them he would be “nowhere”.

One-man protest

Last week Greg, who lives in a one-bedroom flat in Whiteheath, resorted to staging a one-man protest kitted out in his army uniform at the Cenotaph in Oldbury town centre in an attempt to make himself heard.

The former soldier witnessed his close friend being killed by an IRA bomb while on patrol on the Falls Road in Belfast in the early 1980s. The force of the blast threw him onto his back but he escaped without suffering serious injuries.

“I served in Northern Ireland when the hunger strikes were on. I had been ok for a long time but then I started having flashbacks, of some things I’ve seen and experienced,” says Greg, who served with the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers for four years.

“At the time as a solider you got up and got up with it but around two years ago I started having flashbacks.

“I went to ask for help - I have been asking for help for two years.

“It got to the point where I couldn’t ask for help anymore so I decided to protest and put myself in my uniform as I think too many former soldiers are invisible.

“I served my country, now I want my country to serve me.”

Greg said his demonstration had an instant impact. “I had six phone calls from the council and have an appointment with a welfare officer.”

Food banks

He most recently worked as an estates manager for a housing company and was previously an antisocial behaviour officer at Birmingham City Council but doesn’t work currently due to his condition.

He says there are days when he is at his lowest where he keeps the curtains drawn and stays in bed.

“I’m using food banks when I can but it’s difficult because you’re only allowed so many vouchers. I’ve got some friends at church who are very kind.

“The Royal British Legion have supported me really well and are doing everything they can. They gave me food bank vouchers and have taken me to people to asses my mental health and got me a mental health worker.

"Without the Royal British Legion there would be nothing. I would be nowhere without them.

“I’m relying on the charity of others but I don’t want to. The Government should look after me, not charities, not food banks.

“There needs to be a lot more support for soldiers, to make sure when they fall through the cracks there is someone there to pick them up.”

Greg admits he is worried about what his immediate future holds.

He said: “I can’t deal with crowds. There were too many people at the Cenotaph and I was really feeling it. But there is a realistic possibility that in January I will be homeless so maybe I will have to get used to it.

“I will just have to deal with whatever is going to happen.”

A Sandwell Council spokesman said: “Mr Elwell is not on the council housing register at the moment but our officers have interviewed him and we are working to try to help him resolve his current housing issues.”