Ipswich Town legend joins veteran support company

Combat2Coffee founder Nigel Seaman says he is looking forward to what the not-for-profit can achieve with Terry Butcher on board

Ipswich Town and England football legend Terry Butcher has become patron of a not-for-profit company encouraging veterans to talk about their mental health over a cup of coffee.

The 65-year-old, who appeared in three World Cups, has joined forces with Suffolk-based Combat2Coffee to support veterans and their families.

He has backed calls for better mental health support for veterans' families after his son Christoper, who served in Afghanistan, died in 2017, having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Butcher, who captained both his club and country, said: “I am doing this for my son, what he suffered and what we all went through as a family.”

Combat2Coffee was founded by Royal Anglian veteran Nigel Seaman in 2018, following his own diagnosis with PTSD.

Butcher, whose appointment comes at the start of Armed Forces Week, said: “I feel very honoured and humbled. My son would have loved it if he was still here.

“My son followed the same path as Nigel.

"There’s a lot of veterans coming out now with mental and physical health troubles. They come crashing out of the military and there still isn’t a lot of help there for them.

“Combat2Coffee is a great organisation because it introduces people to a brew which gets them talking to people. It puts you at ease as a veteran.

“There is hope, great hope – but we want to give them even more.

“I am doing this for my son, what he suffered and what we all went through as a family.”

The not-for-profit offers coffee meet ups and runs barista training for veterans to help support their mental health

Mr Seaman said: “Together we will not only look to change lives one sip at a time through our coffee, but utilise his reach to influence positive change at a national level.

“I look forward to seeing just how much we can achieve together."

Combat2Coffee served more than 250,000 cups of hot drink in 2023, each emblazoned with contact details for veteran and mental health charities.

It also runs a coffee shop and trains veterans at its Ipswich barista academy.

Butcher, who was raised in Lowestoft, won 77 caps for England between 1980 and 1990 and played more than 350 games for Ipswich Town.