After a devastating car accident left Neil Fellingham with a life-changing leg injury, his RAF career came to an unexpected end. Facing career uncertainty, adjusting to a disability, and navigating new parenthood, Neil turned to the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF’s leading welfare charity.
The Fund’s financial and emotional support became his lifeline, propelling him towards a new goal: competing in the 2025 Invictus Games.
Senior Aircraftman Technician Neil Fellingham joined the RAF in 2010 and served for 12 and a half years as a weapons technician. Neil loved his military career; he served at RAF Marham identifying faults for MBDA missiles and for this, won the Flight Safety Award. Neil was then selected for his most technically demanding role – working on ejection seats on Tornado aircraft.
Neil, now 36, also served at RAF Honington and was deployed to the Falklands in 2017. One of Neil’s career highlights was having the opportunity to meet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
But sadly, on 5 August 2018, Neil was run over by a car he was repairing, resulting in a broken leg. Neil needed surgery to remove a neuroma, which occurs after a nerve is partially or completely disrupted by an injury. Since then, Neil has been left with limited mobility and diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Neil said:
“Unfortunately it now looks like my left leg is dying and I have requested to amputate. My left leg has half the bone density of my right leg and it’s not going to get better.”
It was whilst stationed at RAF Honington that Neil was able to speak to RAF Benevolent Fund Ambassador David Rose about the Fund’s support for serving personnel and their families.
Neil explained:
“I reached out to the Fund during the pandemic when everything was so uncertain. I was recovering from surgery to remove the metalwork in my leg. My team at work were so supportive and helping me to get by, but we realised my mobility was rapidly deteriorating and this would have an impact on my future in the RAF.”
The Fund stepped in to help with funding for a pedal assist e-bike. Neil said: “I’ve always loved riding my bike and found that I couldn’t do it anymore; I’d lost cycling which was so important to me, and I felt so low.
“The new e-bike is amazing because my right leg is doing all of the hard work. I felt incredibly fortunate to have received support; I was buzzing when the bike was delivered!”
The Fund remained by Neil’s side following the financial support. He explained:
“My wife and I had a traumatic experience with the birth of our daughter Poppy; she was born premature and was in neonatal intensive care for three and a half months. She was so small, she literally fit into the palm of my hand.
“Poppy, who is now three, has a genetic condition which we’re not sure of yet, but she is shorter than other children of her age. She needs a lot of help to breathe, and in winter we have to be especially mindful of her lungs.”
It was through the conversations with David that Neil was made aware of the extent of support available to him from the Fund.
“David was so understanding, and the RAF Benevolent Fund’s ethos became so clear to me, I instantly felt that connection and trust to explore further what the Fund could offer to me.”
Neil has since been diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and has benefitted from the emotional support available at the Fund.“I feel incredibly fortunate to have received help through the Listening and Counselling Service. During those sessions I realised there was a lot going on for me, career wise and personally; I was getting used to being disabled.”
Neil continued:
“It’s been really challenging but being able to talk to the right people at the right time has really helped me. I quite literally would not be here without the help that I’ve received from the Fund.”
Throughout Neil’s recovery, his doctors encouraged him to swim and cycle to improve his physical and mental health. Neil said: “The bike has enabled me to be able to do that – so just being able to do one of those things is the best feeling ever.”
Neil will be competing in the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 hosted in Canada. There are 64 members of Team UK taking part with 500 competitors overall. Neil has been preparing for the Games by taking part in monthly training camps.
The multi-sport event offers a recovery pathway for internationally wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. The Games include sit-ski, wheelchair basketball, swimming, skeleton, indoor rowing, wheelchair curling and wheelchair rugby to name a few.
Neil, who will be competing in adaptive sport events including Wheelchair Basketball and Alpine Skiing, said:
“I’ve never done anything like this before. I was given the opportunity to try and that’s what I want to do – I’m tired of thinking that I can’t do something.”
He continued:
“I have never done anything like this before. Having the e-bike has allowed me to keep fit; it keeps my cardio going and I can do 5K rides which has enabled me to prepare for this journey. I’ve amounted approximately 3,000km on the bike since 2020.
“The support from the Fund has empowered me. I am now able to go out and ride; I just enjoy living in the moment. It’s a true feeling of escapism.”
The RAF Benevolent Fund provides financial, emotional, and practical assistance to serving and retired RAF personnel and their families. This includes grants to help with financial difficulty, mental health support, Airplay youth clubs, and more.
