FOR Alan Devenny, the Army was everything. When he joined aged just 16 in 1979, it was his working week and Sunday rest.

But this, as he acknowledges now, was both a “help and a hindrance”.

The 59-year-old, who lives in Kelvindale, began struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nine years after leaving service.

Glasgow Times:

He began his time in the Army on the war-torn streets of Belfast and Armagh.

The camaraderie among his fellow soldiers kept Alan going while he was in the Army but it was the things he saw which came back to haunt him once he began suffering attacks of PTSD in his dreams.

Glasgow Times:

He said: “I would have a dream about past incidents."

A sleeping PTSD episode was a terrifying ordeal for Alan. “It is noise, sweat, your heart-rate goes, everything, but I could cope with that,” he said.

“But it happened once during the day, I was in Asda. It was embarrassing. My brother was there and he came right away and from that day, I started thinking: I can’t go out anymore, what if I am in a restaurant, they will think I am some sort of druggie or off my head. I had to sell the security firm I owned, I was getting too aggressive and I was trying to get my head around what was happening.”

Alan, like many who leave the armed forces, found adjusting to civilian life hard. “I loved the Army, you had everything, your mates, your food, your accommodation. It was once you got out the problems started.”

Glasgow Times:

He found it very difficult to know how to do basic things, even cooking for himself, paying bills and signing on for benefits posed difficulties for him in his first years out of service.

And seeing comrades in worse situations turn to drink and drugs made it even harder.

“There was nowhere to turn,” said Alan. “Their GPs were just filling them full of medication and the alcohol abuse was phenomenal, too.”

It was only after a trainee GP referred him to the services of the veterans’ charity Combat Stress that he began taking steps to tackle his PTSD and move forward with his life.

Glasgow Times: Ian Hopkins, operations manager, at the 2017 second anniversary celebrations for the Coming Home Centre Ian Hopkins, operations manager, at the 2017 second anniversary celebrations for the Coming Home Centre

Since working at the Community Veterans’ Support service in Govan’s Coming Home Centre, Alan has helped fellow ex-servicemen and women come to terms with problems from PTSD to difficulties adjusting to life beyond the armed forces.

Allana Kerr, a client support worker at the centre said the heart of the project is letting people come to terms “at their own pace”.

“They don’t have to talk about their experiences,” she said. “It is a safe place to come and have some food and talk to people.”

The centre, closed because of the pandemic, shifted to delivering meals at home for veterans last year with the help of a Comic Relief grant.

Allana said: “ We work in a discreet and dignified way, everyone deserves dignity, especially our veterans.”

The centre has meant a lot to Alan, who has found a sense of common purpose lacking in his experience of civilian life.

He said: “You can see guys swapping stories about their times in Northern Ireland, the Falklands. They have that sense of community. You can’t talk to civilians about a lot of it.”

Red Nose Day, in support of Comic Relief, will be broadcast on BBC One at 7pm on Friday, March 19. You can donate here.