An RAF veteran says the Royal British Legion saved his life and gave his little girl her dad back. Neil Fellingham, 38, served for more than 12 years in the RAF as a Senior Aircraftsman Technician, working on ejection seats for Tornado aircraft. His career was cut short after he sustained a serious leg break in August 2018 when he was run over by a car he was helping to repair. He is now waiting for his left leg to be amputated after living with chronic pain.
Reflecting on his life after the accident, he said: “I can be brutally honest when I say this, I wouldn't be here without the Royal British Legion. The car accident was horrific. Our entire lives were turned upside down. I went from being able-bodied to a wheelchair user.”
From Dark Place to Recovery
The dad said of the accident: “I attempted to jump up and get out of the way but unfortunately I was dragged underneath the car and snapped my tibia just below my left knee.” Medics discovered Neil from Ipswich had a neuroma growing inside his leg and he endured multiple surgeries. He has been left with complex regional pain syndrome.
The injury has had a huge impact on his physical and mental health, leaving him struggling to leave his home he shares with wife Lauren and their five-year-old daughter Poppy. “I was in a very dark place. I did try to do something and I got to a point where I finally realised I needed help, so I did reach out,” he said.
“Without the RBL’s support, for all of us, I quite honestly don’t believe I will be here right now. There would have been nothing to live for. Because of the Royal British Legion, I have been able to spend more time with my wife, my wife has got her husband back and I've been able to spend time with Poppy, and she has been able to get her dad back. We've been able to go and do fun things together.”
Finding Purpose Through Sport
Neil, who experienced PTSD following his accident, participated in an RBL recovery program in 2024, which involved a multi-activity course at the charity’s Battle Back Centre in Shropshire. There, Neil rediscovered his love of sports and ended up part of Team UK for the Invictus Games in Canada in 2025. He competed in Wheelchair basketball and Alpine skiing.
“It gave me a reason to keep going. Attending the first training camp at the Battle Back Centre was incredible. I can't describe it as anything other than just feeling safe and reassured,” he said. “Everybody was just so kind and I needed that because I was in a very bad place mentally. It was my first time out of the house in two years on my own, without my usual support network.”
“But it was just a really positive experience that I look back on now and I’m so grateful I was able to go because it helped me get selected for Team UK which is mind-blowing.”
Supporting the Poppy Appeal
On Thursday he returned to the Battle Back centre in Shropshire to receive a special poppy from the RBL, made from a former war-time Spitfire. Neil said his wife and daughter and his parents, Graham and Hazel Fellingham, have also been supported by Britain's biggest military charity. The RBL is hoping to raise £50 million this year with its Poppy Appeal, which kicks off for 2026.
About his involvement in the Invictus Games, he said: “I was dumbstruck and it was incredible. I loved it. I learnt so much, not just about winning medals - I didn't do that well! I was able to learn so much about what I can still do.”
“I spent an awful long time thinking that was kind of going to be it. I was washed up, I was done, there was nothing else to be done. I then went from that to doing sit-ski for example, something that I’d never done before in my life.”
“To go from this is your first wheelchair into ‘okay we are going to try wheelchair basketball’. I learnt so much of what I could still do, it changed everything. It showed me what I could do and not what I could no longer do.”
Looking Ahead
About his wait for his leg to be amputated, he explained he needs a spinal stimulator fitted which will help him control some of the nerve pain going down his leg. He hopes that will mean he can reduce a lot of his medication, “which I really, really want because the brain fog is awful.”
“In the long term my surgical team have agreed that amputation is the best option to give me better mobility and an improved quality of life, which is all I want. I want to be more mobile, to be able to do more stuff. And to not be on the medication which just turns me into a zombie.”
The dad says they are “incredibly grateful” for the donations made by the public to the nation’s beloved charity. “The donations received have helped me, my wife and my parents. People don’t give up on you, you can still do amazing things even when you are not okay, even when you are struggling.”
