The finishing touches have been put to Edinburgh’s historic floral clock, which this summer has been designed to mark 100 years since the signing of the Armistice, leading to the end of the First World War.
The West Princes Street Gardens landmark, maintained by the City of Edinburgh Council, has been created in partnership with Armed Forces charity Poppyscotland as part of their year-long fundraising campaign, The 1918 Poppy Pledge.
Read moreIn a recent webinar, Simon Allen, OA Chief Operations Officer, shared his experiences of working in the charity sector.
Charities vary considerably in size, values and culture, so you need to choose a charity whose purpose you believe in.
A larger charity will generally have more roles available, higher salaries and be better resourced. However, these charities can be more bureaucratic and the roles more specialised. In smaller charities, employees will likely be generalists, have lower salaries and fewer opportunities for career progression, but can often make a greater individual impact.
Read moreVix Anderton, a former RAF Intelligence Officer, shares her transition story.
Vix joined the RAF in 2005, having been in the Officer Training Corps at Manchester University, where she studied Economics and Politics. She graduated as an Intelligence Officer in 2007, and fulfilled a variety of roles during her 10 year career.
Vix started to consider the possibility of a different career while studying a Service-sponsored Master’s Degree in War Studies at King’s College London. Vix’s dissertation was on Female Engagement Teams in Afghanistan and the military’s role in the Women, Peace and Security agenda, which helped her to realise she had a passion for women’s rights and gender issues
Read moreThe Officers’ Association (OA) has secured a corporate membership with The Leaders Club, a networking group that meets in London. This will allow up to 5 serving or former officers from the OA community to join their monthly networking events.
At The Leaders Club, their motto is ‘Bringing Great Minds Together’, and their vision is to inspire each other with inspiring speakers at inspiring venues.
Read moreForces in Mind Trust (FiMT), a grant awarding body with the aim of enabling all ex-Service personnel and their families to have a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life, has just passed a significant milestone – their 100th grant award.
The award to Cranfield University, for £96,688, coincides with the celebration of 100 years of women serving in the UK Armed Forces. The focus of this work is to explore the transition that female Service leavers make from the Armed Forces to civilian employment.
Read moreKaren Munro, a Careers Coach and Trainer, shares her insights on networking.
I see clients all the time who say they feel so despondent when they are searching for work and how “there’s just nothing out there!” They tell me about how they are spending hours every day combing all the key internet jobsites. Many of them will upload their CV onto jobsites such as Indeed, CV Library and Monster, as well as sending them to recruitment agencies thinking if they flood the market with their CV then they’re bound to get a hit – surely it’s just a numbers game?
Read moreThe Prime Minister has recognised Jeffrey Long MBE, an 86-year-old former paratrooper from West Yorkshire, who raised over £120,000 for The Royal British Legion in 2017 when his sponsored walk went viral.
Jeffrey was propelled to fame during last year’s Poppy Appeal when his 86-mile fundraising walk began trending on social media after being shared by comedian Jason Manford. The attention resulted in his JustGiving page total going from £300 to £75,000 within 24 hours, eventually reaching over £120,000.
He is the latest recipient of the Points of Light award, which recognises outstanding volunteers who are making a change in their community and inspiring others.
Read moreBeth Spencer served for nine years as an Army Intelligence Officer, before leaving to work in Risk Management.
Why did you decide to leave the Army?
I had done everything I wanted in the Army, and needed fresh challenges. I was interested in working in Risk Management and Communications. Plus I had recently married another officer, and it is difficult to find suitable postings together in the same location every two years.
Retired Colonel Audrey Smith, now approaching 80, has always been a trailblazer, especially for women in the military. Here is her story.
Audrey always actively pursued the life she wanted, which often meant rejecting the social norms at the time. She went to Nottingham University in the 1950s, when few women went onto higher education, studying economics, a subject considered more typical for men. While at University, she joined the Officer Training Corps (OTC), which led to her joining the Regular Army in 1962.
Read moreWhen 95-year-old Gwladys Anderson’s boiler broke down just before Christmas 2016, festivities at the old stone house in Crail, Fife, were all but over.
Gwladys did not want to leave the home she has lived in for 53 years, but with no heating and hot water, she told her Christmas guests to stay away. Gwladys’s daughter, Carolyn, describes how the RAF Benevolent Fund came to the rescue.
It was Christmas Eve when mum’s 10-year-old boiler decided to pack up completely. It had been playing up for a while and we’d limped on with it but this time we knew it was the end.
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Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here
