Works of art by more than 40 wounded war veterans go on show at a new exhibition opening in The Mall tomorrow.
The free Help for Heroes Creative Force exhibition is an opportunity for injured soldiers to display their work and “explore the relationship between creativity and recovery”.
Kevin Preston, a retired Coldstream Guardsman who was injured on patrol during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the early Eighties, will join fellow veterans at The Mall Galleries for the official opening.
He has auctioned his work with help from the charity and described his sense of pride that his image of a soldier in combat fatigues is going on show in The Mall, where he once marched.
Mr Preston suffered severe spinal damage after climbing a wall and falling backwards on an IED detector which was in his backpack, which left him in agony but went undiagnosed for 15 years.
He said: “Help for Heroes have given me a lot of encouragement with my art, and I was taken to a gallery to auction my work. I’m also meeting people similar to myself, and a lot of them have been through hell.
“When you concentrate on the painting, listening to the radio, it just takes your mind away.”
The exhibition runs at the Mall Galleries until August 19 and at creative-force.helpforheroes.org.uk
