Military Memories: Military Memories is a anthology of poems written by the forces community. The poems illustrate the journey taken by those who join ... families’ lives and also the trauma we face.

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There were quite moving experiences when you were in those places. I was in East Timor, with about 10 other Brits and a unit of Gurkhas. It was a brutal place, the militia were executing and beheading people because they didn’t want them to vote for independence from Indonesia. We were there from the very start. The UN left because it was getting really violent and Australia was lead nation on this operation, we were there to guide and help them through operations. SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, is proud to announce that four of it’s supporters were in the winner’s enclosure at the English Veterans Awards, held in Bristol, on Thursday. Alongside a wide range of banking services, NatWest offers businesses specialist sector knowledge in areas such as sustainable energy, commercial property and technology, as well as access to specialist entrepreneurial support.

Recognising the importance of cycling to Gina’s wellbeing and mental health, her network helped connect her with SSAFA. As someone who had raised money for charities, Gina found herself, suddenly, on the other side. The book, titled ‘Military Memories’, is a collection of poems written by veterans, serving personnel, families of those who have served, and the wider forces family. The profits of ‘Military Memories’ will go towards a number of military charities, including SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. Sally Orange MBE has spent years campaigning and raising funds and awareness of the mental health challenges faced by veterans, serving personnel and reserves following her own battle with severe depression and chronic anxiety. She is tireless in her work and regularly runs marathons all over the world, often dressed as a piece of fruit. My inspiration for this book also came from a poem I wrote for my brother’s funeral. Since it took place under Covid-19 restrictions, we were only allowed ten people, so it was streamed on the internet.We could only have 10 at the funeral but we drove the cars through the shipyard. The workers and the Navy were all lined up. They stopped production for half a day and 3,000 people all stood there in honour of him. We were worried that everyone would turn up for the funeral, which you weren’t allowed to do. But people still did. There were probably a couple of hundred at the funeral, outside.” This award honours a person who has overcome significant challenges, injury or disability, and whose ongoing or past outstanding achievements are an inspiration to others within the Armed Forces community. The winner of this award will be chosen through a public vote.

Then the next day my amazing brother died. I was completely consumed with that, nothing else mattered. Her cycling had been a “coping mechanism” whilst caring for her terminally ill brother Spencer, who died of cancer the day after her crash. Sally’s award respects a person that has overcome challenges in pursuit of sporting excellence, demonstrating outstanding achievement in the field of sport and contributing to the endeavours and advancement of the Armed Forces Community. She also won through a public vote.A British Army veteran has published a book of poetry written by veterans, serving personnel and their families to raise money for charity.

The team at the Veterans Awards add: “ In England, we have a huge number of highly successful Armed Forces Veterans that have made the transition from the Military to civilian life we want to reward these veterans who have gone above and beyond and excelled in their relevant fields. They will act as role models for future service leavers. We want to find the people who even during the most difficult periods have excelled.It was an honour to have been nominated and I hope it raises the profile of the work we do. It has been a great night and I’m glad some of my SSAFA friends have been here to enjoy it with me.

Gina has now launched a poetry book to help members of the Armed Forces community and say thank you for the support she received. We want to Inspire our future service leavers that great things can happen. It’s you who will act as role models and in some cases mentors, remember Positivity breeds Positivity. Massive thanks to everyone who attended this year’s English Veterans Awards hosted by Polly James and held at the Village Hotel and Leisure Club Bristol on the 21st September. The Awards were sponsored by Company X Consulting Ltd and in Support of The ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and The Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity! It was such a fantastic event with a great atmosphere in the room!

The book contains poems from thirty poets who have all contributed to the book and have a military connection. ITV presenter, Lorraine Kelly, is one of the contributors, as well as radio presenter, Joe Carden. Well done to everyone who was nominated and shortlisted as finalists, we had a huge amount of applications and the shortlisting process was extremely difficult. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who put forward nominations, you are all doing amazing things in your relevant fields and you should be so proud of your achievements!