Public support for our Service personnel
Thank You!
Thank you for visiting this page. Public support means a great deal to those who are serving, and particularly to those on operations.
Support from home is an essential part of the morale of our Armed Forces deployed overseas amid the stresses and strains of the operational environment.
Armed Forces Day
Armed Forces Day is the last Saturday in June. The day is the annual opportunity for the nation to Show Your Support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces: from currently serving troops to Service families and from veterans to cadets.
There are hundreds of local events taking place in towns and cities across the UK. If you want to know more about how to get involved and what's going on in your area, visit www.armedforcesday.org.uk to find out how you can celebrate Armed Forces Day in support of our nation's Armed Forces - past, present and future.
You can also join the constantly growing Facebook community and keep up to date with events or post a message of support at www.facebook.com/ArmedForcesDay.
Ways to show your support
There are many ways in which members of the Public can support our Servicemen and women such as making a donation or sending parcles for troops. This factsheet highlights some of the best ways to provide support, whether for troops deployed on operations, for personnel who have been wounded or for ex-Service personnel.
Support a Service Charity
Often the best way to provide support will be through established charities which understand the most effective ways to help.
See Related Pages for a list of the major Service charities.
Donate to the SSAFA Operational Welfare Fund
In conjunction with the MOD, SSAFA has set up a new Operational Welfare Fund dedicated to providing support to the front line.
Although the MOD provides a comprehensive Deployment Welfare Package which includes; a free mail service, 30 minutes of telephone calls a week and Internet access, there are still areas where life can be improved.
Priority for spending from the Fund is set by Commanders in theatre, for those items which will have the most significant impact in enhancing the morale of their personnel.
Currently the Fund is focused on providing electronics such as DVD players, DVD and Games Consoles for Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan.
You can donate online; see the Donate to SSAFA Link.
Donate to the uk4u Thanks! Christmas Box Scheme
uk4u Thanks! is a registered charity which provides Christmas boxes full of presents (affectionately known as the 'square stocking') as a gift from the nation to all those serving in the forces overseas away from their families on Christmas Day. They ensure that all Servicemen and women who are serving away at Christmas receive a box, whether they are in the Army, Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force, and wherever they are in the world. Feedback from troops who have received the box since the charity began in 2004 has been extremely positive, and a significant boost to morale at what can be a lonely time.
The charity does not receive any public funds, but the Ministry of Defence (MOD) supports the charity with advice and guidance. The also help by sending the parcels for troops in any transport going out to operational theatres which has spare capacity. It is important that the boxes are not sent through the British Forces Post Office system, so there is no chance that they will 'clog up' the supply chain and delay parcels from families and friends getting to their loved ones.
For 2009, the charity aimed to send 23,000 parcels for troops to those on operations in Afghanistan, and to locations such as the Falkland Islands, Ascension Island and Diego Garcia, plus sending boxes to those in ships and submarines across the world.
To donate a donation or find out how you can sponsor a box, please visit the uk4u website under Related Links
Send parcels to troops by donating to Support Our Soldiers
'Support our Soldiers' is a Tri-Service Charity which allows the public to show their support for both members of the British Armed Forces serving overseas and their families back home.
The founders of the Charity are both mothers of soldiers, keen to do something positive as a result of their personal experiences.
SOS have a bespoke arrangement with the British Forces Post Office to facilitate the sending of high quality parcels out to named Serivce personnel which is coordinated to ensure minimum disruption to the operational postal system.
For more information see the SOS website under Related Links
Operation Shoebox provides an opportunity to help lift spirits and make life a little more bearable for deployed service personnel.
We encourage people to fill a shoe box with a range of goodies and useful items that would mean a lot to the troops, some of whom have been away from the UK for months and who are therefore missing basic items that we normally take for granted.
Operation Shoebox have agreed to send out our peak seasonal boxes via container thus freeing up the forces postal system for family and friends mail. We can arrange collection of the boxes and onward delivery.
Ian Whiteway one of the organisers said “I’m sure lots of people will be keen to help our troops at a time when they are far from home and engaged in difficult tasks in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the little things that make life out there more tolerable, bring a some cheer to our troops and importantly, let them know that back home in Britain we are thinking of them. Thank you all!”
For more information see the Operation Shoebox website under Related Links
Donate to Thank The Forces
'Thank the Forces' is a Tri-Service Charity which allows the public to show their support for members of the British Armed Forces serving overseas.
Thank The Forces has a bespoke arrangement with the British Forces Post Office to send an agreed quantity of parcels for troops out to each of the chaplains in theatre every week for onward distribution to where they will be most appreciated. The delivery of these parcels is coordinated to ensure minimum disruption to the operational postal system.
Any monies raised in excess of that required for the parcels for troops will be passed direct to the SSAFA Operational Welfare Fund.
For more information see the Thank The Forces website under Related Links
Help provide support for wounded personnel
A number of charities exist with the specific aim of providing help and support to soldiers, sailors and airmen who have been injured in the line of duty.
See Related Pages for a list of the major charities which help wounded Service personnel.
Send a Personal Message [Family and Friends only]
Family and Friends of Service personnel can send them messages for free via the award winning e-bluey system. This is a hybrid or electronic mail system that allows the relatives and friends of Armed Forces personnel serving on operations to maintain regular contact.
The e-bluey system allows users to compose a letter using e-bluey software at an overseas operational location, a rear-party location in UK or a home PC and know within 24 hours it will be in the hands of the recipient - in some cases we have recorded receipt within twelve hours. You can also include pictures within an e-bluey.
For more detail please visit the BFPO website under Related Links
PLEASE NOTE: This service is available only to Family and Friends of deployed personnel.
Send a Parcel [Family and Friends only]
The Family and Friends of Service personnel deployed into or in support of certain operational theatres, currently Afghanistan and Iraq, can send parcels to troops for free via the Enduring Families Free Mail Service.
This allows them to send a small packet weighing up to a maximum of two kilograms.
The packet will be accepted by Royal Mail Post Office Counters only if the address contains the name of the person it is being sent to.
For more detail please visit the BFPO website under Related Links
PLEASE NOTE: This service is available only to Family and Friends of deployed personnel.