Military heroes produce World War One film

Wounded war veterans have helped to create their own stop-motion animation film at the Help for Heroes Recovery Centre in Colchester.

The initiative was part of a wider project led and produced by The Bridge for Heroes in association with Riarmato Productions.

The charity Bridge for Heroes had been awarded a grant of £27,392 by Help for Heroes, in order to keep the centre running.

It also received finance from the Heritage Lottery Fund to produce a series of 12 stop-motion animation films based on World War One.

Entitled 'The Great Story', the film is set to feature 12 stop-motion animations at two to three minutes each.

The films will showcase the defining moments of the first world war and was made by 12 groups of people. 

Veterans Steven Vaughan, Colin Branch and Dave McCafferty who had previously never met discussed ideas and story line development to work on a film based around animals that played a key role in the war.

Mr McCafferty was medically discharged in 2007 after suffering degenerative injuries to his knees and lower back.

He was referred to Help for Heroes after his wife discovered the charity when looking for resources to help him.

Staff at the Help for Heroes recovery centre persuaded Mr McCafferty to participate in the project and he explained that he was proud of his achievements.

He said: "Thank you for talking me into attending the WW animation event. I really enjoyed it, who would have thought I had an imagination and was able to vocalise it."