Edition 40
This week, we firstly honour and remember all those involved with Op Telic….
And it’s been a bumper week with some very special news from Scotland, stories of some of the very positive work and inspirational fundraising that has been taking place, an opportunity to have your say – and a chance to grab some fabulous ‘early bird’ tickets.
Thank you for your continued support.
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Operation Telic was the codename for the British military mission in Iraq, which began in 2003 and officially ended in May 2011.
We remember all those who served and died during what was one of the largest deployments of British forces since the Second World War, with 46,000 troops deployed at its onset in March 2003.
If you, or anyone you know, is or might well be struggling to cope with difficult memories at this poignant time, there is information and help on where to find available support here.
A breakfast well worth getting up for
The Charity’s team in Scotland last week hosted a Business Breakfast in Edinburgh attended by 40 high profile guests from all sectors of the corporate world – ‘an eclectic gathering across the wide spectrum of businesses from finance to legal and commerce to industry’.
Also present were Brigadier Andy Muddiman, Naval Regional Commander Scotland and Northern Ireland; the Commanding Officers and Regimental Sergeant Majors of 45 and 43 Cdo, and former RM Scott Livingstone, the International Advisor to the NatWest Group.
The meeting helped raise the profile of the RMA – The Royal Marines Charity and gave some insight into the strategic importance of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines to national security and the Scottish economy. It also detailed how the Charity offers lifelong support to the serving Corps, veterans and their dependents.
Those attending heard first-hand about how companies can and have benefitted from the Commando Mindset Training programme. This resilience training tool helps staff to ‘understand, adapt, respond and overcome’ whatever challenges they face at work and at home.
The meeting was most generously sponsored and supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland and, following its success and that of a similar event held last year in Glasgow, plans are afoot to now hold a third Business Breakfast in the south.
Pictured top right with Nick Holloway, Relationship Manager, RMA – The Royal Marines Charity is CO of 45 Cdo Lt Col Ed Hall MBE RM: and, top left, Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Susie Hall with the Charity’s Transition Support Officer North (and Scotland & N Ireland), Paul ‘Baz’ Barrett.
Grant will help streamline veteran support
RMA – The Royal Marines Charity is delighted to have received a £300,000 Transformation Grant from The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT).
Over the next five years, this will be used to fund the Charity’s ‘Building Collaboration and Consensus’ project with the aim to develop and implement a Common Assessment Framework in identifying the holistic needs of the beneficiary and their family. The project will be led by Director of Health & Wellbeing, Danny Egan.
Tom Wilson, Director of Development, RMA-The Royal Marines Charity says: “Building on our already established partnerships, through ‘One is too Many’ and others, and those that we are still developing, we will be looking to develop an agreed common assessment framework model that can be used by multiple organisations and importantly shared with the beneficiary.
We expect this to result in a more uniform approach at the point of initial assessment, referral and then onwards through the recovery pathway. Most importantly, it will prevent beneficiaries having to repeat and re-explain their challenges and issues time and time again.”
Fanfare of thanks
Huge thanks to veteran RM Ian Clark (pictured right), Managing Director of award-winning Arbroath-based IED Training Solutions, who has just donated £4,370.59 to the Charity, handing over the large cheque to Danny Egan, RMA – The Royal Marines Charity Director of Health & Wellbeing .
Through its collaborative relationship with RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, IED has been delivering nationally accredited and regulated training courses to serving personnel, service leavers, the veteran community and RMA corporate sponsors for the past two years.
The company pledged to return 50% of all net profits from the income generated through delivering mental health first aid training courses and this first cheque represented those provided to 118 of the Charity’s beneficiaries during the 12 months prior to May 2022. Learners were taught how to provide advice and practical support to an individual(s) presenting with a mental health condition.
Ian said: “The Royal Marines are truly special and those of us that have or have had the privilege to serve in the Corps are especially aware of the impact which that service has had on their lives.
Seeing the improvement in the Charity’s beneficiaries after being armed with the qualifications they gain through IED brings us all tremendous satisfaction.”
Director of Health & Wellbeing, Danny Egan, adds: “We greatly value the partnership we have developed with IED Training Solutions. The company’s gesture to share a percentage of its profits is most generous. We are delighted, too, to be able to support and promote a business run by one of our own and which provides such first-class products.”
Fundraisers extraordinaire
Not only did veteran John Peel join fabulous fundraiser Heather Crawford for the third Ultra marathon distance of her year-long challenge to run 12 in 12 months for £12K (pictured left) – he is also well on his way to racking up mileage for his own phenomenal fundraising challenge in aid of RMA – The Royal Marines Charity – aiming to travel a colossal 1,664 miles walking, cycling or swimming before the Corps birthday in October.
He set himself this epic challenge to mark the 55th anniversary of his crossing the threshold at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines at the start of his own RM training back in 1968!
Over the years, John has raised individually over £10,000 for the Charity and, as branch chairman, has been pivotal in the North Devon RMA Branch fundraising endeavours, for which we are hugely grateful.
The fundraising team recently hot-footed it to North Devon to present a thank you certificate on behalf of the charity to the North Devon RMA Branch (some members pictured bottom right) which had a huge impact in the 2022 RM Cdo 80 campaign, raising a whopping £10,500. This boosted their overall fundraising total to date to over £278,000
We thank them for their magnificent loyal support. They really are a force to be reckoned with.
Straight from the heart
Steve has been struggling with a number of personal issues after leaving the Royal Marines and this has been affecting his whole family.
Recently, with no money left to cover their immediate general needs having paid priority bills, he approached RMA – The Royal Marines Charity for some help and was awarded £1,000 grant.
He was duly grateful and went out of his way to explain in more detail what the support meant to him and his family.
Have your say
As a valued supporter of veterans through RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, your views are important and can help influence the direction of future research and policy development.
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) is working on a new project with the James Lind Alliance (JLA), to investigate the top 10 health research priorities for UK Armed Forces veterans. More information about this project can be found on the JLA website.
Veterans, their family, friends and other supporters, and healthcare professionals who work with veterans and their families are being asked to answer a short survey. Should you be in a position to do so, your input will be gratefully received.
Pound for pound!
For only £1, you too can pound the streets of Birmingham and raise vital funds for the Royal Marines Family in the Great Birmingham Run 2023 on 7th May.
Starting at 08:00 in the heart of the city, the 10km or half marathon course incorporates tracks through the historic heart of Birmingham.