Noel Savage ‘died of a broken heart’ two months after his veteran son, Brett, lost battle with PTSD

Noel Savage from Newtownards was the father of Brett Savage, whose death at the end of August, aged 32, shocked his friends and family.

Brett had served in Helmand with the Royal Irish Regiment, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and was medically discharged in 2017.

He was a survivor of the brutal Battle of Musa Qala in 2006 when British soldiers, starved of supplies, fought to hold the city against relentless attack from 500 Taliban fighters. Brett’s father Noel died on Wednesday, his wife told the News Letter.

Only 24 hours after he buried his son on September 5, he suffered a stroke and had been cared for in hospital since.

“I think he died of a broken heart,” his wife Dolores told the News Letter.

“After Brett died and we cleared out his flat he just gave up. He lost his child and he just wanted to be with him. They were very close indeed.

“He said to me the day after he died: ‘I need to be with him to look after him’. Brett was absolutely our world. Losing him was hard enough.

”The only thing that is keeping me sane now is that I have a little granddaughter [two-year-old Olivia] and she is lovely.

”Noel had been very angry about what Brett went through after leaving the army, she said.

His PTSD - which usually entails severe flashbacks of traumatic battle situations - was so severe that his life became chaotic and he became homeless.

”Noel stood by his son the whole time - he just thought the world of him,” Dolores said. “He was sorry he ever let him join the army because of the way he was treated.”

“Noel was a very strong person, kind, considerate and a loving husband.” His death will leave a huge gap in her life, she said.

“He definitely will. That is the two men in my life gone. Now I have my daughter, granddaughter, cousin and her husband and my nephew. That is all.”

‘Absolute devastation’ after death of former Royal Irish soldier Brett Savage

Brett Savage: Laughter and tears at funeral of Royal Irish veteran

Brett Savage death: ‘NI veterans under extreme mental health pressure due to Covid-19’

She hopes the story of her family’s tragedy could save others from going through the same thing.

“Young soldiers should not be going out and fighting when they are 18,” she said. “They are far too young, they should be training for longer.”

When Brett turned 18 his regiment did three months in Iraq, she said.

”They had the worst tour of Afghanistan you could possibly have in Musa Qala. They were surrounded by the Taliban and they had run out of ammunition and food, but the Taliban didn’t know that.

“It was only that the elders of the town talked the Taliban round and got them out. He came back in such a bad way.”

One of Brett’s friends told her - ‘Nobody can explain how you feel or what you are going through. You have to experience it [PTSD]  to understand it. One day you can be fine and the next day a noise or a smell or anything can trigger it all off. You just can’t control it.”

Dolores said: “I remember Brett being in town one day with his friends. He heard a bang and jumped to the ground as though a shot had been fired. And they all turned around and looked at him and laughed.

“They don’t understand the seriousness of what he had been through, seeing his comrades with their insides hanging down their bodies. He didn’t tell me much about it but what he told Noel was absolutely horrific.

”So they definitely should not be sent to war so young. They are still children when they are 18.”

She does not feel there was adequate support to help him after he left the army.

“He got no help when he came back. They said: ‘You have your arms and legs, there is nothing wrong with you’.”

An army doctor confirmed to her husband that Brett had PTSD, she said.

”But they wouldn’t take it on board. They take it on board now but back then they didn’t - they didn’t want to know.

”They just wanted the guys out there and the numbers out there to do what they needed to do.

”And then when you came back and they had these problems they didn’t want to know them.”

She said many soldiers become homeless when they return home. Unless they are supported by groups like Ards veterans charity Beyond the Battlefield, she said, there is “absolutely nothing - It is ridiculous”.

She added: “They go out to fight for their country, put their lives on the line and then they get no reward for it whatsoever.

”They just don’t care. My son was giving his life for his country out there and when he came back they should have shown him some respect.”

She knows three other other soldiers who are also suffering with PTSD, who are also struggling to get help.

”I probably shouldn’t be saying all this but my son is dead now so what can they do to me? I got a letter from somebody and that was about it. There was nobody called to the door to see me or say anything.”

Robery McCartney of Beyond the Battlefield had supported Brett closely throughout his struggle with PTSD.

The enforced restrictions of the current pandemic has left many of his clients feeling more isolated and desperate than ever, he says. He is also hearing of similar pressures on veterans in the Irish Defence Force. 

“About ten of Brett’s friends have been suicidal since his death,” he said. “We have been trying to hold everything together with them.”

The charity technically has a backlog of four weeks before it can see struggling veterans, although it always squeezes people in where needed.

The NHS has a backlog of 14-18 months to see such patients, he adds.

”The victims commissioner is now in position, Danny Kinahan, but they have only given him two days a week to do his job, which is no good to anybody - there are 140,000 veterans in NI,” Robert said.

His charity has applied for funding for a range of projects to help keep veterans healthy and supported during the pandemic. He is now awaiting to see if the applications will be approved.

The News Letter will carry further coverage tomorrow.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor