Football icon Terry Butcher joins Ipswich's Combat2Coffee

Former Three Lions and Blues star Terry Butcher has become a patron for the Ipswich-based social enterprise.

Combat2Coffee has been praised for its work in supporting former veterans adjusting to civilian life, using coffee as a way of opening up conversations around mental health.

The organisation was founded by Royal Anglian veteran Nigel Seaman in 2018, following his own diagnosis with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Mr Butcher has been a vocal backer of calls for greater mental health support for veterans’ families in honour of his son Christopher, who served in Afghanistan as a Captain in the Royal Artillery.

Christopher died in 2017 after a battle with PTSD.

Terry Butcher said that he was pleased to join Combat2Coffee, as he knows how invaluable the support the organisation provides to veterans is. Pictured L- R Keith Myers, Terry Butcher, Nigel Seaman (Image: Combat2Coffee) Terry Butcher at the Combat2Coffee roastery(Image: Combat2Coffee) Combat2Coffee's Nigel Seaman, left, with former England and Ipswich Town skipper Terry Butcher. Image: Combat2Coffee (Image: Combat2Coffee)

Mr Butcher has previously supported Combat2Coffee at its veterans’ breakfasts and will now be even more present as it looks to ramp up its support to the armed forces community. 

He said: “I feel very honoured and humbled. My son would have loved it if he was still here.

“My son followed the same path as Nigel. There are a lot of veterans coming out now with mental and physical health troubles. They come crashing out of the military and there still isn’t a lot of help there for them.

“Combat2Coffee is a great organisation because it introduces people to a brew which gets them talking to people. It puts you at ease as a veteran.”

Mr Butcher’s arrival is timely, with this week being Armed Forces Week.

Mr Seaman said: “All of us at Combat2Coffee are thrilled to welcome Terry to the team.

“He has been a huge supporter of ours since the very early days – and sadly knows all too well just how vital our mission is.

“Together we will not only look to change lives one sip at a time through our coffee, but utilise his reach to influence positive change at a national level.

“I look forward to seeing just how much we can achieve together.”

Mr Butcher added: “There is hope, great hope – but we want to give them even more.

“I am doing this for my son, what he suffered and what we all went through as a family.”