Poppy widow wins pension

Battling Army widow Tina Thompson has won the first round of a battle to claim her husband's pension following a dispute because he was not on duty when he died.

Now Mrs Thompson and her two-year-old son are at the heart of a Poppy Appeal poster campaign highlighting the pensions plight of families of dead or injured soldiers.

The widow, aged 36, of Stourbridge, was refused the full military pension because her husband, Mick, did not die in combat.

He was killed in a road accident on his way to work at a military base in Cyprus.

After a series of appearances before the Pension Appeal Tribunal her claim has been accepted.

But she now faces a fight because the government-run Services Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) is refusing to pay up.

Mrs Thompson's husband had served for 17 years, including tours in Bosnia and Northern Ireland. He was killed in 2005 in a motorbike collision while travelling to work at a base in Cyprus.

But because the accident occurred after the introduction of the new armed forces compensation scheme, her claim was rejected. She was only allowed a part pension of £388 per month.

Mrs Thompson said: "I have been to court and when the decision was upheld I thought the fight was over. It has been hard enough losing Mick let along having to deal with all of this."

Now, a final ruling is expected in December.

Mrs Thompson, who has a two-year-old son Aidan, is leading a campaign with the Royal British Legion to highlight the plight of families going through the same turmoil. Mrs Thompson said she had agreed to appear the legion's campaign as a thank you for their help and to highlight the difficulties of families in a similar situation. They both appear on a new poster produced by the legion for the Poppy Appeal.

It shows the youngster swinging between the hands of his mother and a man composed of poppies in the place of his father.