Armed Forces Community Covenant event success

An event to celebrate and build links between the armed forces and civilian communities in Shropshire has been hailed as a success.

The event at RAF Shawbury took place on Tuesday 30 April 2013 and was a chance for people to discover more about the Shropshire Armed Forces Community Covenant.

More than 60 organisations and groups had stalls at the event, and chatted to people about the support that’s on offer for armed forces, reservists, ex-service personnel and their families in Shropshire.

Information was also available about the covenant grant scheme, which provides funding opportunities for projects to build links between the armed forces and civilian communities.

Musical entertainment was provided from the Shawbury Military Wives choir and the Royal Irish Bugles, Pipes and Drums military band.

A short film was also played, showing interview footage with former soldiers who now live in Shropshire talking about the challenges they have faced since leaving the Army.

The covenant is supported by Shropshire Council, the Army, RAF, Royal British Legion and associated support organisations.

Michael Hyatt, head of strategy, research and performance at Shropshire Council said:

“It was a really successful event and I think everyone who attended took something useful away with them. The musical entertainment was hugely enjoyable and we would like to say a big thank you to the many organisations who came along to offer their support. We hope it’s going to be the start of ever closer links between the covenant organisations and the serving, and ex-serving, personnel in Shropshire.”