DEBT OF GRATITUDE PROJECT
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AMAZON LINK TO MY BOOKS
My Name is Gary Bridson-Daley
Please read my Veterans related story until the very end in order to fully understand my fundraiser, as this is something new to me and something I have never done before!
By doing this you will see how your very kind donations and help in spreading the word about what I am striving to achieve here can and will make such a positive outcome for both me as author and recipient, by allowing me to continue my important work, and all the well-deserving veterans who will rightly be honoured and remembered for all they have done for us as a result of it.
As follows;
For 8 years now I have dedicated myself to honouring Military & Civilian veterans through my 'Debt of Gratitude Project' and have done so by travelling all over the country interviewing many of the last World War Two Veterans from that 'Greatest Generation' whilst there has still been time to do so, and have captured their stories for posterity and for future generations to help secure their legacy and memory and to thank them for their service to our country, the legacy of which, as it is with all veterans who have served this country, that it continues to give us the freedom that we still enjoy to this very day!
Although my work is dedicated to all who have ever served this country from past to present day, I have focused on interviewing those of the Second World War, at present, because we really don't have long left to get their precious stories; it is with this mind that I now completed over 150 interviews all over the United Kingdom with veterans from Navy, Army, Air Force, Special Forces, Intelligence and Civilian backgrounds, ex-servicemen and women from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and also just as importantly I have also sought out veterans who came to help us from much further afield and from many different backgrounds such as West Indian Jamaicans, Nepalese Gurkhas, Sikh and Muslim Indians, Jewish, Polish, Canadians and others! Further important diversity and inclusion also coming from the interviews I have done with limbless and blind veterans, all of whom represent a cross-section of our society today and as a result I am proud to have met and captured their moving stories.
I have done everything on my own so far, from procurement to interviews, including all the photography and videography involved in each one, all the writing up of their stories and the extensive background research required for each, thousands of unpaid man hours which has led so far to the writing and successful publishing of my 1st book called 'A Debt of Gratitude To The Last Heroes' published in 2017 with 2nd Edition published in 2020.
Every aspect of this project has been self-financed with no sponsorship whatsoever and has come entirely from my pocket, and in the process I have used all my savings to fund it, over 10,000 pounds, and now have nothing left to continue what I passionately believe in and want to continue succeeding in doing!
I have now completed my 2nd Book, 'The Last Stand - Memories of War' a huge 190,000-word piece of work with 47 more WW2 Veterans in it! A very big achievement which has taken over 5 years to complete, but due to a number of factors, including publishers being massively inundated with a flood of different military-related manuscripts of every kind as a result of many more people writing during the Pandemic, I haven't despite over a year of trying been able to secure a publishing deal, they all tell me the standard of my work is excellent and my project very commendable, but they have to be much more ruthless in their choice of manuscripts now, also because their focus continues to change, very, very frustrating indeed!
So these two factors, the fact I have no more money to run my project and the absence of a publishing deal, means I have had to adopt another approach and strategy to be able to continue everything, that is to obtain funding so that I can self-publish, with help to fast-track that process and to be able to run every other aspect of my 'Debt of Gratitude Project.
All my work of the past few years will be for nothing if I don't see these critically important things through; I feel and know that it would be such a sad waste of time, money and effort to stop now and that our precious veterans are worth every effort and means I can find to get their hugely important personal history and testimonies out there into the public domain, quite simply many of them will go to their graves never having had their stories told or their sacrifices known if I don't succeed now, which I feel is totally unacceptable and a real crying shame!
We owe it to them to honour their memory and share their experiences with the world; it is so, so important to do this, and my Debt of Gratitude Project has been and continues to be my personal way, within my now limited means to continue doing this, which is why I am reaching out to you all now to ask for your support to help me to succeed in these things, without you I cannot do it, this is for the veterans, as my mantra on the cover of my 1st book says, my work and project is;
About Veterans, For Veterans, To honour Veterans, Because to Remember is to Honour.
This is something I feel is particularly poignant as I start my fundraiser on the run-up to the Remembrance period because of this being at the very heart of all I am doing and is, as a result, directly related to my project and now to my request for help in keeping it alive!
The money I am attempting to raise will help cover a great many things, such as:
1) Any costs in relation to self-publication, directly or indirectly.
2) Buying stock from the publisher to donate to specific military and civilian Charities, Associations and Organisations for posterity and educational use, and to strategically and mindfully put the books there as an ongoing legacy for our veterans to help ensure Remembrance and Respect continue in the long-term, also the post & packaging to send them safely. 3) Buying further stock so I can equip and have an official book launch and all the other overheads that will go with facilitating that vitally important event. 4) Help to cover the costs of keeping the Debt of Gratitude Project running, which includes but not limited to, travel, accommodation and all other miscellaneous related costs when running interviews in other parts of the country in order to reach and be with veterans, who due to very old age cannot and should not be expected to travel, their average age now being between 97-100+ years old, any other travel for research/educational purposes related to my work and of historical importance or relevance, and if and when needed the replacement of any equipment required for the project, due of course to natural ware and tare.
Until now, all of the very expensive requirements listed here and others that aren't have all been paid for and covered by me, and yes, that even includes as authors having to purchase our own books from our own publishers for various usage, albeit at a reduced rate but still a lot of significant outgoings on top of all the other additional things!
Add all this together and you can now see it all makes for a lot of things, both seen and unseen, that I have been maintaining all these years; all most people ever see is just the finished product, a book or a news article, without knowing all this lies behind it, and now at this critical stage with book 2 completed and all this vital funding required in order to continue I hope you will feel moved enough and be generous enough through donations and spreading the word about my fundraiser to help me to continue my work to honour those who have done so much for us.
My 2nd book has now been released on Amazon in May 2023 and is entitled:
The Last Stand - Memories of War and continues my vitally important work of historical preservation of these incredible veterans stories for posterity, it is real tangible proof of what my work seeks to do, and shows what can continue to be possible with your help to cover all the things through this fundraiser, pictures included.
After having come so far in so many ways over the years it is critical to be able to have the help required to be able to continue, I thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart for any and all the help you can give to keep my Debt of Gratitude Project alive.
Warm Regards
Gary. :-)
**All donations are greatly appreciated. Anyone who contributes £100 or more will receive a copy of the new book signed by the Author.
*Some of the interesting, successful and moving moments on my veterans' journey are shown here in pictures and links; I am hoping to re-ignite these once again, and whilst achieving some of my goals, also continue helping others along the way. :-)
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GARY BRIDSON-DALEY
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England