Veterans Commissioner for Wales visits Age Cymru Dyfed

Veterans Commissioner for Wales visits Age Cymru Dyfed

Colonel James Phillips, the Veterans Commissioner for Wales visited the Age Cymru Dyfed office in Aberystwyth on Monday 13^th March to explore the charity’s work with older veterans in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.

Simon Wright, CEO Age Cymru Dyfed said: “We were delighted that Col James Phillips, Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales was able to visit the charity’s Aberystwyth office and to hear first-hand how the charity has been able to support several hundred older veterans across Dyfed during the past 4 years.

We have delivered several support projects including some outstanding and memorable event for older veterans and are now looking forward to the Gordon Prime Memorial Ride on 16 April to raise funds towards a national memorial to Despatch Riders, of which Gordon as a D-Day veteran was one. Age Cymru Dyfed trustees and the recently expanded veterans support team – two of whom are veterans themselves – are firmly committed to continuing to support older veterans through their latest project, Veterans in View.”

The charity provided Colonel Phillips with an overview of the projects they’ve organised since 2019. These included “Valuing Veterans”, “Veterans Never To Be Forgotten”, “Veterans’ Digital Life Links & Easier Access to Services”, the “West Wales Veterans Archive” and “Veterans in View”.

The Veteran Commissioner was introduced to the needs of older veterans in the Dyfed area. Clips were shown from the ITV Wales film ‘Greatest Generation” which was co-produced with the charity, and the West Wales Veterans Archive who said;

"I was particularly struck by their initiatives to tackle loneliness and isolation and their work on recording veterans' stories for the West Wales Veterans Archive in the National Library of Wales."

There was an opportunity to discuss the events that have taken place since 2021 which included Age Cymru Dyfed’s D-Day WW2 Veterans day in Aberporth in 2021, and its participation in the organisation of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Exhibition in the National Library of Wales in 2022, and the forthcoming Gordon Prime Memorial Ride in Pembrokeshire on 16 April 2023, the launch event for the Vintage Motorcycle Club campaign to have a national memorial built to WW1 and WW2 Despatch Riders.

Councillor Paul Hinge, Champion Member for Armed Forces said:

“Age Cymru Dyfed are doing fantastic work with the Veteran Community and we as a Armed Forces Covenant Forum appreciate their willingness to engage and help us to deliver on the needs of the Veteran Community.”

Hugh Morgan OBE, Veterans Coordinator for Age Cymru Dyfed said:

“Since 2019 Age Cymru Dyfed has operated specific projects providing support to older veterans in Ceredigion and throughout Dyfed. Five projects have received funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT), Veterans Foundation and Welsh Government.

"Of particular note is the nationally award-winning and ever growing West Wales Veterans Archive held on People’s Collection Wales in the National Library, Aberystwyth, featuring unique interviews with veterans throughout Dyfed, ensuring that their recollections of military service can be heard and enjoyed by schools, researchers, historians and others for decades to come. The 2022 ITV Wales film ‘Greatest Generation’ which evolved from the West Wales Veterans Archive.

Age Cymru Dyfed currently operates a new project called ‘Veterans in View’ which is designed to identify and provide welfare support to ‘harder to reach’ older veterans. ‘Veterans in View’ is funded by the AFCFT (2023-2025) and driven by Age Cymru Dyfed’s two Veterans Welfare Officers, Neil Davies and Owen Dobson, both of whom are keen to hear from older veterans or their families. They can be contacted at Neil.davies@agecymrudyfed.org.uk or owen.dobson@agecymrudyfed.org.uk

Results from the 2021 Census show that over one third of all veterans living in Wales today are aged 80yrs+. Specifically, two thirds of the several hundred veterans supported by Age Cymru Dyfed are aged 80+. 

Photo in header: (L-R) Owen Dobson, Veterans Welfare Officer, ACD; Neil Davies, Veterans Welfare Officer, ACD; Councillor Paul Hinge, Champion Member for Armed Forces; Simon Wright, CEO at ACD; Colonel James Phillips, Veterans Commissioner for Wales; Hugh Morgan, Veterans Coordinator ACD; Gill Hamilton ACD and Peter Hamilton Chair-Designate, ACD.