Family pay tribute to Shotley Royal Marine, who died at 38

Gregg Packham was, said his family, born to save lives.

“Gregg was kind and generous, passionate and loyal,” said his elder sister, Nicola Packham.

“He loved fiercely and as such felt every loss profoundly. He was determined and never gave up even when the going became increasingly tough. 

“The famous metaphor for this is that the brightest stars burn the hottest, but ultimately the shortest. Gregg’s life was no different; he fitted the events of many people’s lifetimes into his short one."

Gregg was, said his family, kind, generous, passionate and loyal. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg grew up on the idyllic Shotley Peninsula. The youngest of three children, he joined siblings Nicola and John, completing the family of five.

From childhood, Gregg was known for his bright, mischievous personality and his adventurous spirit.

He was dubbed ‘the Pacman’ by friends, a nickname inspired by the popular Gameboy game. This nickname suited Gregg down to the ground, on account of his cheeky, infectious grin.

His love of the outdoors, and particularly water, was apparent from an early age; days were spent fishing along the shore at Felixstowe with his mates. 

His family remember the day he spent many hours digging a huge pond in the garden, which he filled with Koi carp.

From childhood, Gregg was determined to make the world a better place; his sister, Nicola, remembers him coming home from primary school, horrified to have learned about whale hunting. The young Gregg was determined to start his own wildlife club to work against the practice, and spent the whole weekend painstakingly drawing posters and club leaflets to take to school on Monday.

A young Gregg pictured during a cross country race at primary school. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg was always an outdoorsy child, pictured in his Beavers uniform. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg holding a beloved childhood pet, Tickles the rat. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg proudly showing off a catch during a fishing trip. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) At 17, Gregg joined the Royal Navy to train as a medical assistant. His strong work ethic and meticulous nature were recognised, and Gregg was awarded ‘top student’ during the course, and described in a reference letter from his Petty Officer as being “among the most respected Medical Assistants in the navy”.

At 20, Gregg transferred to the Royal Marines. Just four months after earning his ‘Green beret’, he was deployed to the Helmand Province in Afghanistan, completing his first front line tour in 2007.

As Team Medic, Gregg was often the first at the scene of casualties, giving lifesaving treatment to civilian, allied and even enemy soldiers.

He served a second tour of Afghanistan in 2009, serving as Rifleman. This would be his last tour, with Gregg leaving the Marines after five years of service.

Gregg very rarely spoke about his service. However, his family understood that he had seen some terrible things which remained with him.

Gregg pictured during one of his tours of Afghanistan. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg pictured on holiday in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg pictured during deployment as a medic. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Back in England, Gregg had intended to pursue his medical studies at Portsmouth University, for he dreamt of becoming a paramedic. However, he found it difficult to adjust to civilian life, and left the course after a year.

Gregg remained determined to put his skills and knowledge to good use, to help others. He briefly returned to Afghanistan in 2012 as a protection officer for government officials, and spent time volunteering at a clinic in Nepal, travelling to remote villages to offer medical care. When the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, Gregg also spoke about going to help out as a medical volunteer.

Gregg returned to the family home in 2013. He tried hard to rebuild his life, cheering on his beloved Ipswich Town, fishing, restoring boats, and roaming along the Suffolk coastline with his beloved Dobermann, Lincoln.

Gregg pictured with his beloved dog, Lincoln. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) Gregg pictured running a half marathon in London. (Image: Family of Gregg Packham) The last 10 years were difficult, for Gregg struggled greatly with depression and chronic pain.

The weight of carrying the incredibly heavy loads – added to with the additional medical equipment he needed – had taken its toll on Gregg’s body.

He also battled insomnia and turned increasingly to prescription and over-the-counter medication to ease his pain and broken nights.

“We tried pretty much every veterans’ charity and mental health service to get the help Gregg needed,” said Nicola. “Though he did receive some offers it was patchy, uncoordinated and fell short of what was needed. 

“This isn’t unique to Gregg; veterans have been dying unnecessarily for decades as a consequence of their service to this country.”
Gregg died at home in his sleep on November 8, 2023. He was 38.

Many parallels can be drawn between Gregg’s story and that of Christopher Butcher, a captain in the British Army who served in Afghanistan with the Royal Artillery. 

Christopher died in 2017, aged 35, after a battle with PTSD.

Earlier this year, Christopher’s father Terry Butcher, former Three Lions and Blues star, joined the veterans’ support service Combat2Coffee.

Terry Butcher (left) pictured with former footballer Russell Osman (right) and a veteran. (Image: Combat2Coffee) The organisation was founded by Royal Anglian veteran Nigel Seaman in 2018 and has been praised for its work in supporting former veterans adjusting to civilian life, using coffee as a way of opening up conversations around mental health.

Mr Butcher said: "Gregg's story, like that of my son Christopher, is another tragic reminder of the importance of ensuring effective support is available for our veterans. My sincerest condolences go to his family.

"Their stories are sadly two of examples of what will be an even greater number of veterans who we have lost because of an inadequate state safety net.

"All of us at Combat2Coffee will not rest in our efforts to call for meaningful investment into veteran support services to ensure no other families experience such tragic and avoidable loss again.

"I would implore anyone in the county looking for support to contact us today."

Another person to be touched by Gregg’s story is Mark Brennan, deputy lieutenant of Suffolk and current Chair of the Hadleigh branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL). Mr Brennan, too, is a veteran, with 29 years of service in the army behind him.

After leaving service in 2012, he took an active interest in the welfare of veterans, which is how he came to join the RBL as a volunteer.

He said that he was shocked and saddened to hear of Gregg’s death.

In his memory, Mr Brennan set himself the challenge of kayaking the entire coastline and estuaries of Suffolk during 2024. 

So far, his JustGiving page has doubled its target, and currently stands at over £2,000. All proceeds will be divided between Combat2Coffee, and the Suffolk RBL County Committee, whose band of volunteers support the work of the RBL’s branches across our county.

Gregg’s family hope that sharing his story, and his legacy, further work will be done to help veterans in urgent need of support.

“Gregg’s death was avoidable and tragic, like so many veterans,” said Nicola. 

“Veterans deserve better. Gregg deserved better”

To donate to Mark Brennan's fundraiser, click here