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Veteran soldier with heart and lung damage braves sponsored walk for charity that saved his life


By Alasdair Fraser

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Gordon Macmillan charity walker, in his protective nuclear suit that he will be walking in...Picture: Callum Mackay..
Gordon Macmillan charity walker, in his protective nuclear suit that he will be walking in...Picture: Callum Mackay..

An army veteran with lung damage and breathing difficulties is taking on a strength-sapping test of endurance to raise cash for the charity that saved his life while suicidal.

Gordon Macmillan (66) was advised only to attempt what will be a gruelling six-and-a-half-mile walk for Poppyscotland if accompanied by a paramedic.

The Hilton pensioner, who can struggle for breath after walking 100 yards, enlisted a friend from the ambulance service to tail him from Cameron Barracks to Cavell Gardens.

From the age of 15, Mr Macmillan served for eight-and-a-half years with the Gordon Highlanders in Northern Ireland and Singapore.

In 2016, while working as a security guard, he became seriously ill with tuberculosis which doctors linked to army service in the high-risk south-east Asian territory.

Left with a damaged heart and lungs, Mr Macmillan began to suffer serious mental health issues and combat-induced depression, with troubling flashbacks to his time in Belfast.

Already a committed fundraiser for Poppyscotland, his latest ‘thank you’ will see him push himself to his limits on the sponsored walk while wearing an army nuclear biological warfare suit imprinted with a web link for donations.

“I’m not 100 per cent confident I’ll make it, but I’m hoping I can,” said Mr Macmillan, of Morvich Way.

“I’m lucky if I can do 100 yards these days without catching breath and I have trouble with arthritis too.

“They wouldn’t let me do the walk unless I took a medic with me!

“The costume for the day is just a nod to the current Covid-19 situation with protective masks and what have you.

Gordon Macmillan charity walker, in his protective nuclear suit that he will be walking in...Picture: Callum Mackay..
Gordon Macmillan charity walker, in his protective nuclear suit that he will be walking in...Picture: Callum Mackay..

“Myself and my sidekick, Chad Fraser-Hall, have been volunteering for Poppyscotland since the 2018 anniversary of World War I.

“I got in touch with the charity when I took unwell in 2016 and, to be honest, they saved my life.

“I took ill with TB and it left me with damage to the lungs and a bad heart.

“After about six months, I went back to work but I was having terrible flashbacks to my time in Belfast and I had suicidal thoughts.

“My son was helping Poppyscotland at the time and he gave them a call. They sorted everything out in terms of help and treatment.

“I still get counselling through the military charity Combat Stress, who look after me every couple of weeks.

“We also have a veterans’ club every Wednesday with Poppyscotland and, last year, myself and Chad organised fundraising for the Memorial Bench at Cavell Gardens.”

Poppyscotland collections have been hit hard this year with thousands of volunteers forced to stay at home during the pandemic.

Click here to donate to Mr Macmillan’s fundraising effort.


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