Over 100 people came together last week to celebrate and support the Armed Forces community in Westmorland and Furness.
Organised by Westmorland and Furness Council, the ‘Community Collaboration’ event aimed to strengthen connections and hear from local veterans, serving personnel and their families.
His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria, Mr Alexander Scott, opened the event, expressing his delight at the strong attendance and shared commitment to supporting Armed Forces families.
The audience heard from guest speaker Claire Lilly, founder of the Forcer Protocol, an initiative created in memory of her late husband Alan to help police locate veterans quickly if they go missing. The protocol ensures that vital, life-saving information is shared without delay. Cumbria Police Inspector Charles Tresham spoke about how the force has adopted the protocol, following a request from the Westmorland and Furness Armed Forces Board.
Linda Jones, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Chief Legal and Monitoring Officer and Lead Officer for the Armed Forces outlined the ongoing work of the Armed Forces Board, including improved pathways for housing and homelessness support.
Other speakers included Philip Hall from NHS England and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who spoke about NHS services Op Restore and Op Courage, and Gary Shivers from the Department for Work and Pensions alongside Kerryanne Wilde, Defence Relationship Manager for Cumbria and Lancashire, who spoke about joint work on employment transition and skills.
Two important new partnerships were also announced:
- SSAFA partnership: The council will work with SSAFA to provide support for the Armed Forces community across Westmorland and Furness. While based in Penrith, the service will be available to all communities, aligning with the national VALOUR programme led by the Government.
- DMWS and UHMBT partnership: The council is working with the Defence Medical Welfare Services (DMWS) charity and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT) to provide dedicated welfare support for Armed Forces families, ensuring they receive co-ordinated support such as emotional, practical, housing and financial advice, enabling earlier hospital discharge.
As part of the event, the Lord Lieutenant presented Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Awards to Neil Jurd OBE – Leader Connect and One Vision Uniform Services CIC, in recognition of their outstanding commitment to supporting defence and the Armed Forces community.
The event was attended by local dignitaries including the Chairman of Westmorland and Furness Council and the Mayors of Penrith and Kendal Town Councils, who joined to listen to veterans’ voices and understand their lived experiences. Veterans from Barrow were supported to attend thanks to transport funded by BAE Systems.
Cllr Vicky Hughes, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, Active Wellbeing and the Armed Forces, said:
“One of our council values is collaboration and this event was a shining example of the difference we can make together. I would like to thank everyone who attended – our speakers, guests and the Armed Forces community. Listening to lived experience is how we all learn as organisations. We will continue to work hard to improve pathways for our Armed Forces community, to ensure we recognise the sacrifices they have made and address disadvantages where we can. We will now consider the feedback from our Armed Forces community and, through the Armed Forces Board, continue our work to improve services and support – with our new partnerships playing a key role in this.”
