Army veteran from Sudbury sheds light on 20-year journey to master craft of building wooden walking aids for those in need

After joining the Army at 16, Roger Acres played a vital role in helping to treat injured soldiers and their families as a key member of the military’s medical team.

Fascinated by the stories his siblings had shared about their personal experiences in the Armed Forces, Mr Acres set his mind on following in their footsteps.

Following two and a half years of extensive training, Mr Acres, from Hawkins Road in Sudbury, qualified as an operating theatre technician in the Army, which saw him provide vital support to assist surgeons and anaesthetists during medical procedures.

“One of the things that I wanted to do when I left school was to become a veterinary surgeon,” said the 59-year-old.

“But I didn’t have the qualifications, so I looked for the closest job to it.”

Mr Acres’ role saw him deployed to multiple Army bases, both in the UK and abroad, including Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.

Having spent 14 years in the Army, Mr Acres left in 1991 to pursue medical roles at NHS hospitals as an operating theatre technician, before going on to teach university students as a lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

Now, alongside a part-time job as a member of the higher education team at West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds, Mr Acres creates his own range of wooden walking sticks – a craft he has been mastering for the last two decades.

Walking sticks can provide vital support to help individuals – who have suffered from an illness or injury – to balance, and can prove an effective device in relieving pressure from aching joints.

Inspired by the wooden walking aids showcased at country fairs and craft events he had visited, Mr Acres was keen to master the skill to create his own.

“There were stalls selling them and I thought, ‘I really would like to make one of those’,” he said.

Mr Acres’ brother-in-law, John, taught him some of the techniques involved in the craft.

“He showed me the basics,” said the father-of-two.

Mr Acres often purchases the wood he needs from a supplier, but, occasionally he will source the materials himself.

“I’ll go into the woods to find some nice hazel bushes,” he said.

Before the wood can be used, it must be dried for a year to ensure all the moisture has fully evaporated.

“It’s very difficult to work with if it contains sap,” said Mr Acres.

Once it has been prepared, the hazel wood is steamed.

“The steam and hot air warms the wood, so it’s more pliable,” he explained. “As it cools, it straightens into position.”

The following stage involves a hole being drilled into the wooden stick before a smaller piece of material is inserted and made secure with a metal bolt to create the handle. The piece is then ready to be sanded down and polished.

Mr Acres often experiments with different designs, with a recent project seeing him create a handle out of a cow horn with a metal pin badge of a bee glued into acrylic resin to resemble the effect of glass.

To purchase his work, go online to Facebook and search ‘Roger Acres’.