We should remember them

Dr Shaun Lundy is a Chartered Fellow of IOSH. He’s one of our Vice-Presidents and is Chair of our Construction Community. Yet Shaun is also a former Army Sergeant and, as we approached this year’s Remembrance Day commemorations, felt moved to share some very personal, human and compelling thoughts on social media. Here's what he had to say.

Dr Shaun Lundy while serving in The Army

A time for remembrance

The photo introducing this blog for Remembrance Day is of me, 32 years ago. I was a 24-year-old Sergeant serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps with the UN, in Bosnia, in 1993.

A year later, I was in Rwanda, again with the UN, post-genocide. Two tough tours in quick succession that left me in a dark place. I came home a vastly different person, went through a divorce, and faced some very difficult times.

What got me through were mates and leaders who noticed, reached out, and showed me simple acts of kindness. Those small gestures made all the difference. The joy my children brought into my life also helped me to heal; they gave me purpose and reminded me what really mattered. And the support of my wonderful wife, Lian Lundy, has lifted me ever since. Her strength, patience (a lot of patience at times!), and kindness mean more than I can say.

“It’ll be all right”

I often reflect on those days and think that if I could speak to that younger version of me, I’d give him a hug (I definitely needed one) and say: “It’ll be all right, mate. Keep going.” Thankfully, I found the resilience to keep moving forward, but it could have been very different.

As we commemorate the war dead, let’s remember it’s not only veterans who carry invisible emotional scars. Many people do, for all sorts of reasons. You might work with some of them.

In life and in leadership, empathy and kindness aren’t weaknesses, they cost nothing, and yet they can change everything.