Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia and New Pendolino high-speed trains, in addition to suburban, regional and metro trains, and Citadis trams.
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, 4 miles northwest of Maidstone.
Hitachi, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group and had formed part of the Nissan zaibatsu and later DKB Group and Fuyo Group of companies before DKB and Fuji Bank merged into the Mizuho Financial Group. As of 2020, Hitachi conducts business ranging from IT, including AI, the Internet of Things, and big data, to infrastructure.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was a United Kingdom government department formed on 19 October 1970. It was replaced with the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007.
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industry was initiated by EU Directive 91/440 in 1991, which aimed to create a more efficient rail network by creating greater competition.
The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, and al others in need.
Brambles Limited is an Australian company that specialises in the pooling of unit-load equipment, pallets, crates and containers. It is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
A social enterprise is an organisation that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
Shaw Trust is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which supports people with complex needs into good work. It was founded in the village of Shaw in Wiltshire in 1982.
SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents. Anyone who is currently serving or has ever served in the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force and their families, both regulars and reserves, is eligible for their help.
The Earl Haig Fund Scotland, trading as poppyscotland, is a Scottish charity for veterans of the British Armed Forces and their dependants. It was founded in 1921 by Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig as part of the broader British Haig Fund. Its main source of funding is the Scottish Poppy Appeal, organised in conjunction with the Royal British Legion in Scotland, which sells remembrance poppies in early November leading up to Remembrance Sunday. The first Poppy Appeal took place in 1921, and in 1926 Countess Haig established the Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in Edinburgh. The fund merged with The Royal British Legion in 2011 but operates as a distinct charity with the Legion.
Unipart Group is a multinational logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sectors that include automotive, retail, technology and rail.
Downer Rail is a business unit within the Downer Group. As well as manufacturing and maintaining railway rolling stock it holds maintenance contracts to maintain rail infrastructure. The head office is located in North Ryde.
Timothy Campbell is an English businessman best known as the winner of the first series of the British version of The Apprentice, a BBC TV reality show in which contestants then battled to win a £100,000-a-year job working for businessman Alan Sugar. Campbell, a Middlesex University graduate in psychology, worked as a Senior Planner within the Strategy and Service Development directorate of London Underground before applying to appear on the show.
Age UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, formed on 25 February 2009, and launched on 1 April 2009, which combined the operations of the previously separate charities Age Concern England and Help the Aged to form the UK's largest charity for older people.
Preston Hall is a former manorial home and associated estate in Aylesford in the English county of Kent. It dates to the Norman period and was owned by the Culpepper family for over 400 years. Part of the estate became the Royal British Legion Village in the 1920s and the hall itself was used as a hospital after World War II. The estate was broken up over a period of time and most of the area it once covered is now used for housing. The hall itself was transformed into 36 flats in 2015. The Heart of Kent Hospice also occupies a site on the property.
Hilary Lorraine Devey CBE was an English businesswoman, television presenter, television personality, and entrepreneur, best known for her role on the BBC Two programme Dragons' Den until she left to present the Channel 4 series The Intern.
The Poppy Factory is a factory in Richmond, London, England, where remembrance wreaths are made. It was founded in 1922 to offer employment opportunities to wounded soldiers returning from the First World War, creating remembrance poppies and wreaths for the Royal Family and The Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal. It is operated by a company that is a registered charity which provides employment support to veterans with health conditions across England and Wales. The factory's production team continues to make remembrance wreaths by hand today.
The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network is tri-service and any woman with a military connection can join including those currently serving, veterans, mothers, sisters and daughters, empowering women from across the military community. The organisation is also a subsidiary charity of SSAFA.
Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) is a charity based in the UK that helps Armed Forces veterans, disabled people and people who are unemployed. It runs a social enterprise, Britain's Bravest Manufacturing Company, a UK-wide employment support programme for Armed Forces veterans, LifeWorks, a variety of housing for veterans and their families, as well as running back-to-work support for people who have been long-term unemployed or have a disability/health condition. RBLI's headquarters are in Aylesford, Kent, however they support the Armed Forces community nationwide. RBLI is a separate charity from The Royal British Legion.
