A man whose son was killed in action in Afghanistan and a man whose wife was murdered set up a charity to help men through bereavement.

And the charity, StongMen, has recently been awarded £3,000 from Watford Mayor Peter Taylor’s small grant fund.

Efrem Brynin set up the charity with Dan Cross after his son James died at war in Afghanistan in 2013.

StrongMen encourages men to open up about bereavement, alongside their peers, in a ‘safe and secure environment’.

“Five years ago I participated in Channel 4's SAS: Who Dares Wins, while the following year a guy called Dan Cross took part in the series”, explained Efrem.

“His wife, Nikki, was tragically murdered while Dan was away on business and so given what we had both been through, we developed the idea of an alternative support service for men who had lost someone – be it a partner, child, parent, friend or even colleague.

“Men need to talk more and StrongMen is based around taking guys to remote, beautiful locations, providing a safe and secure environment for them to share experiences with men who have suffered similar experiences.”

The charity’s main two bereavement services are the Weekender and Man2Man, which due to funding from the Mayor’s small grants fund will now support Watford residents.

The Weekender is a weekend break for men who have suffered a bereavement where they can meet other men, participate in some physical exercise and form close bonds with people of a similar life experience to them.

The idea of their other service Man2Man, which provides peer support on the telephone to people who need help instantly, was created during the first lockdown back in March 2020.

Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: "StrongMen are a brilliant charity that has a really unique concept around tackling mental health for bereaved men. The pandemic has brought the importance of mental health and wellbeing to the forefront of everybody’s mind as it becomes clearer that we are facing a huge challenge to people’s mental health.”

“One in four of us will suffer from poor mental health at some point in our lives; it really is ok to feel not ok and to remember you are not alone when you feel like this. Now, more than ever, it is important to care for your mental wellbeing.”