News

Ceremony marks battle of Arnhem anniversary

A paratrooper’s stirring recollections of the Battle of Arnhem during World War Two were read out at a memorial service.

Operation Market Garden saw British and Polish forces land behind German lines in the occupied Netherlands in September 1944. After nine days of fierce fighting, the allies were defeated.

A memorial service and tree planting ceremony were organised by Broughton House, the Salford home for ex-servicemen and women, and Life for a Life Memorial Forests, to commemorate the solidarity shown by the UK, the Netherlands and Poland during the battle.

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A new name for a new era – Sussex military charity changes name!

As of Thursday 5 October, Worthing-based charity, The Queen Alexandra Hospital Home (QAHH) has changed its name to Care for Veterans.

The charity, which provides residential nursing care, rehabilitation, respite and award-winning end of life care to physically disabled ex-Service personnel and their families, carried out extensive research into how well it was known, both in the local area and beyond.

Focus groups were set up and included input from supporters, staff, volunteers, residents and their family members, and it was found that ‘The Queen Alexandra Hospital Home’ did not inform people what the charity does nor who it cares for.

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Brecon couple’s 2,300km bike ride smashes target to raise £7,000 for veterans in Wales

A BRECON COUPLE who cycled 2,300km through France and Spain to raise funds for veterans support service Change Step say they are already planning their next long-distance bike ride.

Jonathan and Amanda Barnett raised almost £7,000 for the project, which provides effective peer mentoring and practical help for former members of the Armed Forces — including assistance with mental health, substance misuse and other issues.

The couple pedalled from Cherbourg in the north of France to Gibraltar, at the southern tip of Spain, inside four weeks, covering up to 150km at a time and rattling through France without a rest day.

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Blind veteran from East Sussex to climb Mount Kilimanjaro

A blind veteran from East Sussex is currently training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.

Mark Threadgold, 49 and from Saltdean, has long aspired to climb the mountain, which, at 5,895m, is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. He says: “I’ve wanted to do it for years now. I don’t know exactly why, but it’s just always been an ambition of mine. For whatever reason, this year just made the most sense, so here we are!”

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Veterans Outreach Support, in Portsmouth is recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2017

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities. It is considered to be the MBE for volunteer groups. The award was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June– the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

Veterans Outreach Support (VOS) is a community-based group of volunteers that provide on the spot welfare, peer mentoring and mental health support to ex-service personnel from all three services and the merchant marine and their families. VOS has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2017, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

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One man and his ferret raise over £1,000

Last month Charlie Hammerton, an RAF veteran and his pet ferret, Bandit made the journey from Nottinghamshire to Oosterbeck in Holland to complete an eight mile walk to raise money for Combat Stress.

Both Charlie and Bandit wore WW2 uniform for the walk from the original drop zones in Oosterbeck to Arnhem Bridge.

“I have been to the area a number of times before, I’ve done parachute jumps, cycled and run, but never walked. Bandit and I walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall together for Motor Neurone disease earlier this year, so I decided to bring him along too.

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Tickets for Troops (TFT) in a nutshell

Tickets For Troops is a military charity founded in 2009 that solicits ticket donations for a variety of music, theatre, sporting and cultural events and then distributes them to service personnel so that they can enjoy a little bit of quality time with their loved ones when they aren’t busy selflessly deployed on exercise, operations or other duties.
Who is TFT for? All regular and reserve personnel currently serving in the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force and anyone who has been medically discharged or war widowed since 2001.

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Families Federations seek vital transition feedback from military families

The Naval, Army and RAF Families Federations have been inviting military families to take part in sharing their views and experiences to help make a difference to Forces families. The response to the survey so far has been fantastic and the evidence that they are gathering is integral to our future work on the transition project. As a result of these responses they have decided to keep the Survey open for a further two weeks.

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Afghanistan support

In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here