THE SHROPSHIRE ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY COVENANT PARTNERSHIP

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1 Tel THE SHROPSHIRE ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY COVENANT PARTNERSHIP Page 1

2 Big guns, loud trucks and a helicopter delivering the match ball moments before kick off what a way to spend a Saturday! Throw in a crucial Shrewsbury Town Football Club victory against promotion rivals Burton Albion, and you have one very impressive and successful day. The Armed Forces Community Covenant has teamed up with the club to give fans an opportunity to meet personnel from local Army, Navy and RAF units. The club offered free match tickets to serving military personnel and their families. There was a fan park day atmosphere at the Greenhous Meadow, with many supporters turning up early to meet members of the Armed Forces to see what life and a career in the forces was really like. The club also invited the Royal Irish Military Band to play at half time, the applause to which was resounding. The reservists are in need of boosting their numbers and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Jones stated: Today is a pilot event, which we are hoping to roll out to other sporting clubs across the Midlands. We need to expand our army reserves and today is all about engaging the community and generating interest in the Armed Forces. Shrewsbury Town Football Club has been an absolute godsend. It has been really positive and very supportive. We have a very good relationship with the club and we are grateful to them for hosting today s event. We would very much like to make this a regular occurrence. David Fairclough, Community Enablement Officer for Shropshire Council, is delighted that the Armed Forces and Shrewsbury Town FC are continuing their long tradition of working together. He said: It s great for the fans to come and see this sort of thing as not even Premier League Clubs have had a Forces Day fan park. The Community Sports Trust has been fantastic and could not have done more for the Armed Forces. Fans were able to take part in clay pigeon shooting, rifle ranges, as well as riding in armoured vehicles and competing in a modified assault course. Shrewsbury Town FC Captain Liam Lawrence proved he could hit the target off the pitch as well as on it, after experiencing much success at the rifle range. He said: It s a really interesting set-up here. What these guys do is unbelievable. All the kids here, including my little one, need to know and understand what these guys do and it s great for them to come and meet the officers and see the different units. Forces Day was attended by many families including mother-of-three, Louise Jones who, with family ties to the army, felt it was important to show her support. This is my first visit to Greenhous Meadow to take part in Forces Day. It s important to have that link as it benefits both the football club and the forces. The kids have been looking forward to today and for them to be able to get inside the trucks and hold the guns was just incredible. Jamie Edwards, who manages Shrewsbury Town Community Sports Trust (CST), was delighted with the success of Forces Day. He said: It was great to welcome so many members of the Armed Forces to Greenhous Meadow. We gave them a great platform to interact with the community, which was part of our commitment when we signed the Corporate Convent. It also helped to continue the new match day experience that supporters are now experiencing when attending matches. Page 2

3 Corporate Covenant - Success At the beginning of 2014, the Corporate Covenant only had one Shropshire organisation signed up: SP Services UK. As the year draws to a close, the Partnership is delighted to welcome three of its newest recipients, whose Covenant Pledges will be signed off by the Ministry of Defence. Forces Fones, a specialist division within ATS Mobiles, was launched exclusively to help serving members of HM Armed Forces reduce their mobile phone costs. Shrewsbury Town CST and Caterpillar Shrewsbury also signed their pledges in Jamie Edwards at the STFC Community Sports Trust stated, Our history and partnership working with the Armed Forces is excellent and the Covenant signing was a natural progression to what we already do with the forces. We're delighted to sign the pledge to support the Armed Forces. Mark Trafford, Sales Director at ATS Mobiles said, I employed Rory Austin two years ago. I had been looking at the forces as a vertical market for some time, At Rory s initial interview, we spent more time talking about the mobile phone problems and expenses he had experienced whilst serving overseas. The outcome was Forces Fones! One of my first thoughts when I joined ATS Mobiles was, How can we help the Forces? Rory Austin, employee at ATS Mobiles stated: One of my first thoughts when I joined ATS was, How can we help the Forces? My father had served in the British Army for 30 years and, having grown up in a military environment, including a long period overseas in British Forces Germany, I understand some of the circumstances surrounding the communication requirements of the forces and their families. I knew we had a great opportunity to help with problems such as obtaining credit for a mobile phone contract after returning from an overseas post. ATS Mobile aims to ensure that everyone in the forces is aware of the services and special tailored tariffs Forces Fones can offer service personnel and their dependents. It pays specific attention to reducing international roaming costs that most forces personnel are subject to, and it is to be congratulated on the support it offers the forces. Caterpillar Shrewsbury Ltd signed the Armed Forces Covenant on 8th July EAME Product Manager, Matt Bulley, said, At Caterpillar, we endeavour to conduct all of our work in line with our Values in Action, the cornerstones of which are respect, fairness and inclusiveness. Serving personnel, both regular and reservists, veterans and military families, all perform vital roles in their local communities and in defence of the country, and we are committed to recognising, valuing and supporting their contribution. As such we were delighted to sign the Corporate Covenant last July and are committed to honouring and upholding its guiding principles. Page 3

4 Video click to play ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY COVENANT 2014 Community Covenant Projects THE HIVE CONNECT CREATE Begun in 2015, Connect-Create is a year-long project offering more than 80 inspirational workshops led by experienced professional artists, for toddlers, children, young people and families, both in the Armed Forces and in their local communities. The majority of programmes are music-based, with some animation, arts/crafts and film-making as well as creative vocational skills training. Working with groups of all ages from RAF Shawbury and Ternhill Army barracks, from toddlers to teenagers, the surrounding local communities and Red Cross Shropshire Young Carers, Connect-Create aims to: encourage integration, connect the forces families with their local communities through shared interests and experiences, nurture public understanding by raising awareness of issues affecting the Armed Forces Community. Following taster sessions at RAF Shawbury in April, Gail Moore, RAF Shawbury Community Development Worker, stated: This has outdone our expectations of what we thought it would be. The feedback is already saying it's the best workshop they've ever had! Parents who had viewed the taster sessions held by the Hive said, The children were buzzing coming home after the first day! Following the success of the taster sessions, the Community Covenant Panel was in agreement with the West Midlands panel that the Hive should be awarded grant funding for their project. The new Connect-Create project will commence in You can get more information by Following the Hive on Twitter or visiting their website at: The Feedback is already saying it's the best workshop they've ever had. - Gail Moore, Community Development Worker, RAF Shawbury Page 4

5 Shrewsbury Bookfest was awarded Community Covenant funding during 2014 and has not looked back since. Their excellent project, Bookfest Remembers, is described below. I said you were the bravest of them all and that you always write. I can t bear it..tom was shot. My own son, our son. I held his hand. He whispered to me his dying words. He said, I love you Father and I love Mother and Mary These poignant and brutally honest words weren t written by soldiers from the trenches 100 years ago, but a few months ago by primary schoolchildren in Shropshire, as part of a remarkable, farreaching reading and literacy project delivered by Shrewsbury Children s Bookfest. The pupils grasp and clear understanding of the topic humbled their schools and teachers alike. Earlier this year, Shrewsbury Children s Bookfest delivered hundreds of copies of The Best Christmas Present in the World, a short story by the former Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo, to 18 primary schools across Shropshire. It describes how, in December 1914, the British and German forces famously laid down their arms to play a game of football. The story is told through a letter that is found by chance, almost a century later, bringing one soldier s experience hauntingly to life. Shrewsbury Children s Bookfest has been able to deliver this project, thanks to a generous grant from the Armed Forces Community Covenant, which ensured that the schools taking part were able to keep their copies of the book for future pupils to read and enjoy. Caroline Thewles, organiser of the Bookfest Remembers programme said, It is hoped that one of the outcomes of this project is that civilian children and their families will have a better understanding of the lives of service families and the stresses under which they live. Shrewsbury Children s Bookfest also created a letter writing competition for the pupils taking part. The children were encouraged to write a letter, either in the past or in the present day, to or from someone working in a war zone or an area of conflict. The Bookfest organisers were completely overwhelmed by the response from the schools over 800 letters were written and sent in to be judged by an independent panel. After tears, laughter and deep admiration generated by the language, themes and interpretation in the pupils letters, the judges finally managed to select winners from each year group. The winners were invited to Theatre Severn on Sunday 16th November 2014, to watch the sold out performance of Page 5

6 Michael Morpurgo s play of The Best Christmas Present in the World, adapted from the book, starring himself, Virginia McKenna and the singing group, Voices at the Door, directed by Simon Reade. In a special private gathering after the play, Michael Morpurgo met the winners of the letter writing competition to chat about the project and to present them with their prizes. RAF SHAWBURY FIRST RESPONSE During 2014, The RAF Shawbury Community First Response (CFR) scheme secured funding to procure a suitably equipped Four Wheel Drive (4WD) Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV), to allow them to provide life-saving medical cover under the Community First Responder scheme. The members currently respond either using their private vehicle or one supplied by the North Shropshire scheme, which is shared with other groups who require it. The recent influx of volunteers from RAF Shawbury means that the scheme will benefit from a dedicated vehicle, rather than taking the capability away from another area. The Community First Responder teams operate on a voluntary basis, covering a wide range of emergencies in their local communities. This activity provides a fantastic opportunity for military personnel from RAF Shawbury and other Shropshire military units to provide volunteer emergency medical care to our local community within Shropshire. By funding this project, the Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant will enable the continuation of activities which help to integrate the Armed Forces Community into local life and supports the Armed Forces community to help and support the wider community. MAURICE CHANDLER SPORTS CENTRE Maurice Chandler Sports Centre has been granted Armed Forces Community Covenant funding to enable it to carry out some work on its Sports Centre. The Centre will also use the funds to support a parallel bid to Sport England and other bodies, to construct a state-of-the-art Roller Rink, and to restructure and replace the main 5-a-side pitch with Astroturf. Maurice Chandler also hopes to create a much improved, ambient temperature within the building by insulating sections of it and installing cladding to the steel doors to create a warmer, comfortable and more attractive venue, that will offer a wider range of activities to a broader section of the local community. The project also hopes to invest in pre-school/gymnastics equipment to introduce regular physical activity, specifically targeting parents and toddlers from Clive Barracks. Finally, the Maurice Chandler Sports Centre will be holding a Family Launch Day to introduce these and other new activities, alongside other improvements within the facility. This day of taster sessions will allow forces and non-forces families the opportunity to jointly engage in healthy and social activities. Page 6

7 TERNHILL COMMUNITY PLAY PARK Armed Forces Community Covenant grant money has been awarded to the 1 st Royal Irish Regiment to build a Community Park at the heart of the Ternhill community, so that it is accessible by all military and civilian households in the area. The park will enhance and complement existing amenities in the location, and will be located next to the Community Centre, which is already very much used as a joint military and civilian facility. The local school and nursery situated close by, and attended by both military and civilian children, are making full use of the new facilities. The park project encourages community activities which helps to integrate the forces community into local life, and encourage the Armed Forces Community to help and support the wider community through facilitation of planned events, and the maintenance and shared use of the facility. The Battalion hosted the grand opening of the park in 2014 in the form of a Family Fun Day, inviting all 365 households in the area. This gave a clear message that the park and other amenities are joint community facilities, for military and civilian communities alike. Shropshire's Bob the Playbus The Playbus, with its two qualified professional play workers, visited venues accessible to Armed Forces and local civilian families in Redhill, Donnington, Shawbury, Tern Hill, Cosford and Copthorne during 2013/14. The idea behind these visits was to provide fun-filled sessions of creative play for families and children up to 12 years, providing an opportunity for parents and children from the local Armed Forces and civilian communities to socialise and talk about what would make the locality an even better place for families, and to work out how this could be done by linking social activities available in and outside Armed Forces bases. The Playbus provided direct play services to children, particularly those with limited or no access to other organised family activities. Playbus staff has wide experience and has had great success in encouraging and helping families to find support if they are experiencing challenges with children. Page 7

8 Shropshire Council wins Silver Award Prestigious employer recognition award by the Ministry of Defence Picture: Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, Community Enablement Officer David Fairclough, Brigadier Greg Wilson Shropshire Council was the recipient of the Ministry of Defence s Silver Employer Recognition Award, awarded by the MOD at a prestigious ceremony recently held at RAF Cosford. The award was recently launched to acknowledge organisations for the outstanding support provided across a range of defence personnel matters, particularly those relating to reservists. Shropshire Council was bestowed the badge of honour in recognition of their work on the Armed Forces Community Covenant, and in recognition of their support for reservists. Shropshire Councillor Tim Barker, Chair of the Community Covenant Partnership, said, We are delighted to have received the award from the Armed Forces, and thank them enormously for their service to our country. As one of Shropshire s largest employers, we have a duty to support regular and reserve units and we re pleased to have been recognised for our work. Major Kevin Pembroke, 11th Signal and West Midlands Brigade, stated, The award is just a small way in which we can say thank you to all of the amazing employers that support the Armed Forces, especially the reserves. Organisations are becoming increasingly aware that reserve soldiers can bring new skills to their workforce and that by supporting the armed forces, organisations can also enable their own growth. David Fairclough, Community Enablement Officer said On behalf of everyone connected with Shropshire Council, I would like to thank the MOD for our award. It was with great pride that I attended the ceremony to collect the award on behalf of the staff here at Shropshire Council. Shropshire Council is proud to support our Armed Forces through our pledge to the Community Covenant, and we will continue to support regular and reserve forces, veterans and their families to the best of our Page 8

9 Other Events & Contact Information Shropshire Council was delighted to team up with Public Health, Heartage and 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment to encourage members of the Armed Forces to get their heart ages tested. The event was a great success, and members of the local community also turned up to check their heart ages using the innovative online tool. compared with their actual age. As expected, the men and women of our Armed Forces turned the event into a bit of a competition, designed to see who had the lowest heart age, If you would like to measure your heart age, you can do so by simple clicking the link here and following the necessary steps: Shropshire Council was delighted to welcome the Army Reserve into their Shirehall HQ building on several occasions throughout The reserves that came to Shirehall met Councillor Tim Barker, along with several members if staff who were interested in joining the Reserves. For more information about the Reserves, please visit During 2014, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital (RJAH), based in Oswestry, Shropshire, set up a Veterans Hip and Knee Replacement Service. The surgery is carried out a serving military orthopaedic surgeon and is the first service for veterans with arthritis in the UK. The clinic is of benefit to veterans for several reasons. Veterans are seen by a military consultant who has a better understanding of their experiences and expectations. Veterans receive all of their care at a national center of excellence for orthopaedics. Veterans are seen as NHS patients so there is no additional cost to veterans. If you are interested in the service, contact your local GP and they will refer you to the service. Page 9

10 SSAFA visited the Shropshire Council Customer Service centre and gave an excellent session explaining about the work SSAFA do and identified signposting opportunities. At the session were representatives from the First Point of Contact team, Face to Face Customer service points and the Community Contact team who work at Shropshire Council community hubs. Shropshire Council staff within these teams are now more aware of issues affecting forces personnel and how service charities like SSAFA and The Royal British Legion can help. Shropshire Council HR Policy for Reservists As part of Shropshire Council s commitment to the armed forces covenant, the local authority have undertaken work to alter their HR Policy to include support for Reservists who are employed at the Council. The new policy would ensure that Reservists have the appropriate number of annual leave days to ensure they can complete their training. The policy also ensures managers are given more information about potential deployment, including details around wage contributions from the Ministry of Defence. The details of the Policy are to be ratified and adopted early in Shrewsbury Town F.C visit to RAF Shawbury As part of Shrewsbury Town F.C s commitment to the armed forces, Manager Micky and several players visited RAF Shawbury for a special training session and press conference at the base. The Club has established strong links with the base over many years and manager Micky Mellon said he was pleased to take his players, goalkeepers Jayson Leutwiler and Callum Burton, there once again. This training session involved the players being put through their paces in a Griffin helicopter training simulator by the helicopter instructors of 60 (R) Squadron of the Defence Helicopter Flying School. Although the players kept their feet firmly on the ground, they enjoyed learning about crew co-operation and shared tips on team work and performance management all essential skills whether on the field or flying above it. Station Commander, Group Captain Alastair Smith said: "It was a pleasure to welcome Micky and his players to RAF Shawbury and to see the similarities that exist between the way that we train our future aircrew and the discipline, focus and application that the young players of Shrewsbury Town show. "We are grateful for the continued support of Shrewsbury Town Football Club, Shropshire Council and the people of Shropshire. Page 10