Heather Bell - The Ministry Of Defence & The British Horse Society

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paulrichm

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In early November 2006 the British Horse Society issued an announcement regarding a series of awards presented by the organization to deserving individuals as saw fit by the B.H.S.

Included in these awards was a safety award presented to the Ministry of Defence for a ‘commendable sense of urgency’ in taking action to increase the safety for horse riders in the wake of a fatal accident involving Heather Bell of Market Rasen Lincolnshire – a novice horse rider who fell from her mount as a result of low flying helicopter activity by the U.K. M.O.D.

While any improvement in the safety of horse riding is without exception, a welcome move; the family of Heather Bell take offense to the award on the basis that;

a. The M.O.D. were required to address their flying policies by the Coroner at Heather Bell’s inquest. There was no ‘option’.
b. It has been greater than 3 years since the fatal event before such safety recommendations were presented by the B.H.S / M.O.D. which cannot be considered as actioned ‘with urgency’ – particularly so, when a further fatal horse rider death, under similar circumstances occurred in the area close to Heather’s accident one and a half years later.
c. Neither Heather’s family nor the community of Market Rasen were publicly canvassed for input, advised of this award or petitioned for approval of Heather’s name and circumstance in inclusion in the publication of this ‘award’ – only the M.O.D. were afforded significant input in conjunction with the B.H.S.

While the award aside, is entirely the prerogative of the B.H.S;. the family of Heather Bell take issue with the promotional material that is presented by the B.H.S. regarding the awards. Such material makes focus on the award, its derivation and merit and quotes Heather Bell as the origin. While this is factually correct, under the ‘fair use’ laws; the reference to an entity or name for purposes of promotion or gain by another entity is forbidden without the explicit permission of the right holder. The reporting of ‘news’ by recognized media agencies is permitted on the proviso that the content is accurate and not for gain by the reporting entity.

The family of Heather Bell has not issued permission for the use of Heathers name in promotional material presented by the B.H.S. – material that does not directly serve the individuals represented by the B.H.S. but a pure ‘advertisement’ of the B.H.S. itself.

A formal complaint was issued to the B.H.S. A response was provided by a Mr. Graham Cory in which he states:

‘First and foremost, not even those of us who have lost family or friends under circumstances other than natural causes can pretend to share the grief you feel for Heather, nor the anger her death caused you. However, I can assure you we understand it, however imperfectly.’

This has incensed the family, as anybody who could ‘understand’ would have had common consideration of his fellow man and informed the family of the individual for which the issue at hand relates.

When addressed on this issue, Mr. Cory replied with:

‘I cannot comment on anyone's performance at the Inquest as I was not there, nor (as I said in my letter) can I, or should I, give the impression that I can share a family's grief.’

The initial response was finalized with the following comment:

‘None of this will bring Heather back nor ease your pain. But perhaps you would reflect that, if Heather is the last victim of a fatal fall when a helicopter passes low overhead, then some redemptive good will have come out of this tragedy.’

While such efforts of sentiment are recognized, Mr. Cory failed to address the death of a rider in the same county, in the same area, under similar circumstances only one year later - during the period of the Heather’s inquest in fact.

Despite all the issues and the condescending details of ‘Operation Brighteyes’ provided by Mr. Cory, which have never been in question; the family requested that Heather’s name not be used in promotional media for the B.H.S. regarding the awards – ‘fair use’ permitting a recount of the events as ‘news’ and not as a vehicle for gain by the B.H.S.

We have received this final response:

‘We have never sought to suggest, nor will we in the future, that Heather's family was in any way involved in (or approving of) the Society's decision to make any awards. But neither would it be right or honest for us to pretend that the awards, and the work which preceded them, arose from any other cause than Heather's accident.’

The family would question, if Mr. Cory agrees to not suggest or state an involvement of Heather Bell’s family, why will he not remove Heather’s name (since she is a member of our family) from B.H.S. promotional material not directly related to her accident and subsequent inquest.

Under this basis, the family has now engaged the services of a solicitor to halt further actions of the B.H.S that are felt to exploit Heathers circumstances of death, her life and the ongoing lives of her remaining family.

Is it so unreasonable that people have some consideration for others ?

Thank you for your time spent to read this.

The family of Heather Bell
 
Firstly, my sympathy goes out to your family.

Secondly, I wish you a positive outcome and I do believe that you, as family members to Heather, should have a right to, at the very least, common courtesy.

Best wishes.
 
How sad that you have not been involved in the descision making. I have been involved with the MOD following an incident when a horse was injured in the field. I have yet to even receive an apology from them, let alone anything towards the vets bills and subsequent loss of value/future of the horse.

They had the cheek to suggest that the horse should have been turned out in fluorescents. Seems to be their answer to everything!
 
PR Exercise the whole thing.

I really do feel the utmost sympathy for your family. Sadly organisations such as the MOD/BHS do not tend to think of the grass roots implications such as using someone's name in their own bid to gain positive publicity.

I wish you a positive outcome.
 
Your family have my heart felt sympathies. What happened to Heather was terrible, unnecessary and strook a chord with all riders out there.

I sincerely hope that you get the result you want and that you're wishes are respected.
 
good luck with your case.

The MoD should not be provided with 'awards' as they are a department of Government and as such are Civil Servants. i.e they should be polite and they are the servants of the taxpayer.

As such the actions of the MoD in causing this accident hardly constitutes acting as a dutiful servant to your family.

Therefore as far as I can see there is no merit in any award to the MoD and so it follows that any use of your family name in the publicity of such an undeserved award is totally wrong.

The BHS appears to have 'lost the plot' in this case from what you are saying.

As the BHS is a Charity with it's remit to act in the 'welfare of the horse' I hardly see that (re)warding an organistation that has caused death and injury to horses and horse riders is within the remit of the BHS charter (or whatever it is that charities have)
 
I agree that the BHS should respect your clearly stated wishes and not use Heather's name. It is most unfair to put you through this against your wishes.

I also agree that it is not appropriate to give an organisation an award for correcting acknowledged shortcomings, especially when ordered to do so by a coroner, though the Wing Commander who led the review of procedures deserves credit.
 
Although I can appreciate how angry you are at the use of Heather Bell's name in what would appear to be an award for mandatory actions imposed on the MOD surely the fact that this has raised the profile of rider injuries and has, in some way, perpetuated a memorial for your family member is good. Riding is a dangerous sport made more so by everyday hazards of cars and aircraft and I think those of us who ride do accept this to a larger extent. I would feel very proud of a family member whose name became linked with a change for the better for riders. I am sorry that you feel your family members name has been used without your authority but how would Heather have felt? Only your family know the answer to that.
 
Sarah,

Thanks for your entry.

Although we would point out, that if you re-read the initial post, the family does not in anyway reject the positive impact of 'Operation Brighteyes' and actively supports any safety initiative that improves the safety of horse riders.

The BHS awards do not serve the interests of its membership or in any way directly contribute to improved safety for riders - the awards act solely as a publicity vehicle for the BHS. The use of Heathers name as a means to promote a reward for an entity found responsible for her death is not only unethical but legally dubious.

Please do not confuse our objection to the use of Heathers name and circumstance as reluctance to endorse any safety initiative.

In the coming weeks there will be further announcements on this subject, as there have been ongoing activities by various agencies following the inquest.

You may be shocked to learn of what is to come and I have no doubt that the BHS will willingly want to re-evaluate their association with the MOD once the announcement has been made.
 
Dear HeatherBellFamily
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I shall be very interested in any further developments and hope that you will keep us all informed through the forum.
 
Oh my goodness, I, and I'm sure others, had absolutely no idea that you had no involvement or input in this award. How disgraceful and insensitive.

I don't know what the legal implications would be, but I would imagine that, as Heather's next of kin, you would have sole discretion over the rights to use her name. (Sorry, that sounds awful!)

This really is the last thing you need right now, and I wish you the very best of luck in your fight, and truly hope you get a positive outcome.

May I take this opportunity to offer you my condolences on the tragic and unnecessary loss of Heather.
 
[ QUOTE ]
the positive impact of 'Operation Brighteyes'

[/ QUOTE ]

In my locality we endure low flying aircraft day in day out.... a few months ago I had cause to ring the MOD regarding an incident that happened when I was turning my horses out into the field and ultimately got knocked off my feet as the horse spun in terror!

I was told by the MOD that its no good wearing the flourescents supplied as when the pilot finally see's you, its too late to take evasive action????

mmmmm great!
 
I had an interest in this matter at the very outset, and whilst no longer personally involved have followed the case closely. HeatherBellFamily, please feel free to send me a personal message then I can explain to you.

It was, and still remains to be, a very tragic event. For the B.H.S and M.O.D, collectively, to fail to discuss or seek permission from the Bell family to make reference to Heather is unforgivable.

Claims against the M.O.D for damage to livestock, property and people due to their low flying have been happening for many a year, they have a dedicated department in Whitehall to deal with such claims along with standard forms for those affected to complete, and whilst we must be mindful of their need for training, they too must be mindful of the devastation that their actions leave behind which could so easliy be avoided.

Th family of Heather Bell have endured the loss of Heather on a daily basis for more than three years, and will continue to feel that loss for the rest of their lives. What has happened recently only compounds that grief.

HeatherBellFamily, you are in my thoughts, and I hope that you are as strong now as you were in the beginning to continue your fight against those responsible for Heathers death.

I wish you all the very best for now and the future.

L.
 
Update: The BHS continued to refuse to remove Heathers name from their promotional material.

We contacted the BHS president directly, who happens to be Noel Edmonds. We received a reply within a couple of days advising that they had spoken to the executive office of the BHS and that as a result they confirmed that Heather's name had now been removed from all material.

A check on the website confirms that Heathers name has indeed now been removed. Unfortunately, the prior press releases mean that other organisations are still promoting the original release with her name and it is unrealistic to expect that these will be altered.

In the meantime, in the next few weeks the Lincolnshire Police will be making a significant announcement on this issue.

We appreciate your ongoing attention to this important subject.
 
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