FALLEN SOLDIER -THAI NAVY STEPS IN TO HELP RETIRED BRITISH ARMY OFFICER-

January 26, 2014August 16, 2018 Andrew 1566 Views Captain, Ronald Webb, Sunanta Kaewmuangpetch min read

OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE – THEY JUST FADE AWAY!

Update: Captain Webb now admitted to ICU on life support

A 86-year-old former officer in the Royal Engineers is being
looked after by the Royal Thai Navy after being found wandering penniless in
Pattaya with memory loss.

Captain Ronald Edward Webb was accepted for admission to the
Queen Sirikit Naval Hospital in Sattahip on Friday after the founder of the Shelter-Centre – Pattaya Sunanta Kaewmuangpetch, better known as ‘Nong’, begged the Thai Ministry
of Defence for help.

Earlier a plea to the British Embassy, she said, had been
rejected by an official. But that stance may have now been revised. Bert Elson, of the ex-serviceman’s organization
the Royal British Legion also wrote a supporting letter for the admission of Captain
Webb.

So he is now being looked after by Thailand’s Ministry of Defence.

While his Service and Pay Book shows him as an enlisted man who rose through the ranks, some entries showing him passing various skills seem to have the dates altered on them showing them to have been passed in 1944 when he would have been only 17-years-old. It looks like he may have passed, rifle, Bren gun and grenade tests in 1945 and indeed his book shows he was found suitable for OCTU (officer) training on March 3rd 1946 missing the Second World War. He was born in 1927.

Mr. Elson, who last year was also appointed British Honorary
Consul in Pattaya, said at the weekend that there was absolutely no comment he
could make on the case, and he referred enquiries to the British Embassy in
Bangkok.

It is possible his two roles
may have come into conflict but I understand he has put in some personal cash.

Ronald Webb

The British Embassy does not comment on consular cases other
than to say the standard ‘a British national is receiving consular assistance’.

Nevertheless the case highlights the predicament of British
retirees in Thailand. Ronald Webb is understood to have at least two pensions,
his service pension and his old aged pension. He does not however appear to have any family in the U.K. who can help him sort them out.

And he does not appear to have received cash from either of
these pensions for quite some time. His memory loss is a key factor as well as his lack of ability
to communicate.

Said Nong:

“We have little to go on except his army and
service pay book. He told us he had an
account at a Kasikorn Bank in Pattaya but when we took him there the staff said
no he did not.

Nong – Shelter Centre Pattaya

“When I called the British Embassy an official told me it
was not the Embassy’s responsibility.

“I believe they had a follow up call from
the British Legion and steps may be being made now to get him back to England.

“I understand he has been in Thailand for about seven years but
his visa has expired.

“I initially got him into Banglamuang Hospital but they
did not even feed him there and they discharged him saying there was nothing
wrong with him – when there quite clearly is.”

Bert Elson (Pattaya One)

He had been found in a collapsed state twice in Pattaya, the last time after he was struck by a motorcycle in Pattaya Central Road.

Added Nong: “I rang around hospitals and eventually got
official support to apply to the Ministry of Defence to look after him
temporarily while his affairs are being sorted.”

There is growing pressure on the Thai government to insist
that all foreigners resident in Thailand have compulsory medical insurance. But
costs have skyrocketed and senior citizens can often be refused.

Shelter Centre Pattaya

Footnote:

If you wish to assist the Shelter Centre Pattaya please contact them at this link.

This organisation is involved in helping hundreds of people in unfortunate circumstances in Pattaya and I know it is desperate for funding.