While the quiet township of Creswick may be a long way from a warzone, former soldier Gary Charnock is keen to highlight that his personal battle still continues.
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During his 13 years in the British Army Mr Charnock saw the horrific scenes of war in places such as Kosovo, Bosnia and Kuwait before moving to Australia, where he is now the owner of fruit and vegetable shop Creswick Country Fresh.
In the brief moments Mr Charnock would get to himself while on patrol, the soldier would take his mind off the difficulties of war by drawing cartoons, a practice which quickly gave rise to a set of recurring characters.
The problem with post traumatic stress is you never get rid of it and there is always bad times.
- Gary Charnock - Former soldier
While the pictures were initially for the amusement of Mr Charnock’s children, the shop owner is now preparing to publish a book titled ‘The Adventures of Sniffer and Flutter’, which focuses on his two main characters, a hedgehog and a butterfly.
“It relaxed me and it took my mind off the job and all of the bad things out there,” Mr Charnock said of his hobby. “They sat on the shelf for about 20 years and a couple of people looked at them and said they were good but I never pushed it.”
An ambitious soldier, Mr Charnock was forced to cut his career short after suffering a number of injuries which stemmed from a broken neck and back which occurred from an explosion while on duty in Northern Ireland during The Troubles in 1991.
As well as battling his own demons as a former soldier, Mr Charnock has maintained close contact with many former soldiers who have struggled to return to civilian life.
Through the sale of the children’s book he is hoping to raise money which can be put towards supporting military personnel and emergency service workers grappling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“The problem with post traumatic stress is you never get rid of it and there is always bad times,” Mr Charnock said. “If you get two ex-servicemen where one has lost a leg and the other has mental health issues, the public only tend to see the disabled soldier as having suffered at war.”
Mr Charnock is hoping to turn the stories into a five-part series and hopes to gain the support of a Victoria Cross recipient in an effort to combat PTSD.
