Royal Wootton Bassett, formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies 6 miles (10 km) to the west of the major town of Swindon and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Calne.
Haig Housing is a charity founded in 1928 to provide housing for ex-servicemen in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands.
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.
ABF The Soldiers' Charity, formerly the Army Benevolent Fund, is the national charity of the British Army. Since 1944, it has provided a lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families when they are in need.
Selly Oak Hospital was situated in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham, England. Previously managed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the hospital closed in 2011.
The number of Canadian Forces' fatalities resulting from Canadian military activities in Afghanistan is the largest for any single Canadian military mission since the Korean War between 1950 and 1953. A total of 159 Canadian Forces personnel have been killed in the war since 2002.
Help for Heroes (H4H) is a British charity which provides lifelong recovery support to British Armed Forces service personnel who have been wounded or injured in the line of duty, and to their families, originally only since 11 September 2001, though this restriction was subsequently removed. The charity has supported more than 25,000 individuals since 2007, through its physical, psychological, financial, sports, fellowship, and welfare support services. It was founded in 2007 by Bryn Parry and his wife Emma, after they visited soldiers at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.
Mark Sutcliffe MBE was educated at Sawtry Community College before joining the British Army in 1997 aged 17, enlisting into the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment The Poachers, initially joining C (Northamptonshire) Company. In 1999 he also served with the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment part way through their 2-year tour of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. On return Sgt Sutcliffe was selected to join the Close Reconnaissance Platoon, over the next 9 years Sgt Sutcliffe served with the Battalion in UK, Cyprus, Jordon, Belize, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Philip Packer is a British charity activist who suffered serious injuries while serving with the British military in Iraq in 2008 and has since engaged in numerous publicised physical challenges in support of his charity, the British Inspiration Trust (BRIT), and other causes.
The Not Forgotten Association is a British Armed Forces registered charity for serving and ex-servicemen and women that operates throughout the United Kingdom. The Not Forgotten combats isolation and loneliness in the Armed Forces community by providing entertainment, social activities, challenge holidays and respite breaks for those who are wounded, injured, and sick.
Simon Mailloux is a serving officer in the Canadian Forces. He was severely injured on 16 November 2007 in an IED incident in Afghanistan. As a result, his left leg was amputated.
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.
Damien Thomlinson is an Australian commando, swimmer, rally car navigator, para-snowboarder and author. He joined the Australian Army in 2005, and went on to serve in Afghanistan. While serving with the 2nd Commando Regiment in Tarin Kowt District in April 2009, the vehicle he was in drove over an improvised explosive planted by the Taliban. Thomlinson was severely injured, suffering wounds to his face, arms and legs; the damage to his legs was so severe that they were amputated. After undergoing extensive rehabilitation, he stayed with his unit in a desk job. In June 2011, to honour the memory of a friend who died in Afghanistan, he walked the 96-kilometre (60 mi) long Kokoda Track on rubber prosthetic legs as part of a 25-man team of Australian soldiers.
Georgia joined the war in Afghanistan in 2004 and the country had become the largest non-NATO and the largest per capita troop contributor to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan by late 2012, with over 1,560 personnel on the ground as of May 2013. At its peak deployment, Georgia provided two full infantry battalions serving with the United States forces in the Helmand province. Since the beginning of their mission, more than 11,000 Georgian soldiers have served in Afghanistan.
The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spirit of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and what they can achieve, post injury.
Semper Fi Fund is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides a variety of programs to assist wounded veterans in all branches of the United States Armed Forces. The organization describes its mission as "providing urgently needed resources and support for post-9/11 combat wounded, critically ill and catastrophically injured members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families." As of November 2019, the Semper Fi Fund has issued 209,000 grants totaling $210 million in assistance to 24,000 service members and their families.
Paul "Pen" Farthing is a British former Royal Marines commando and founder of the Nowzad Dogs charity.
Row2Recovery is a British unincorporated Association of volunteers which assists military adaptive-rowing. The Association has completed four Atlantic adaptive-rowing crossings and, when a charity, supported a national adaptive-rowing programme for the British military wounded, injured and sick in partnership with British Rowing and Help for Heroes. Row2Recovery was founded in 2010 by former Army-Captains Edward Janvrin and Alexander Mackenzie.
Bravehound is a Scottish charity that supports former servicemen, women and their families. They provide training and dogs to support veterans, some of whom have post-traumatic stress, other mental health issues as well as physical injury. Weekly individual and group training sessions are provided free of charge. Bravehound is funded by the Chancellor using Libor funds, The Covenant Trust Fund and public fundraising initiatives
Ben Parkinson MBE is a former British paratrooper, veterans' campaigner and author. He is the most severely wounded soldier to survive the War in Afghanistan. Both his legs were amputated, he broke his back and suffered lasting brain damage when the Land Rover he was travelling in struck a landmine in 2006. He defied his doctors' expectations by learning to walk and talk again and regularly raises money for veterans' charities. His case forced the Ministry of Defence to significantly increase compensation payouts to wounded British soldiers.
