Veterans Aid is a leading UK Charity offering help to ex-forces personnel (Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

, Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

, RAF or Merchant Navy) who are facing homelessness.

History

Veterans Aid was founded by Mrs G. Huggins, the wife of an Army Officer, who narrowly escaped drowning in 1924 as a result of a collision involving a Royal Navy Cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 in the Mediterranean. Grateful for what she considered to be a miracle of deliverance, she started looking for some way in which she could be of service. Being frequently approached for money by homeless forces veterans in London, she formulated the idea of forming an organisation to help them. This led to the opening in January 1932 of H10 - a canteen and recreation room for destitute ex-services personnel in Lambeth

Lambeth

Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

, South London.

Additional accommodation was obtained, including a hostel and a night shelter, and in 1933, the title Embankment Fellowship Centre (EFC) was adopted. In March 1969 the name was changed to Ex-Service Fellowship Centres (the acronym EFC being retained). In October 2007, the Trustees decided that the name of the charity should be changed to "Veterans Aid" in order to reflect more accurately reflect the nature of the work done.

Today

Veteran's Aid runs a drop-in center in Victoria

Victoria, London

Victoria is a commercial and residential area of inner city London, lying wholly within the City of Westminster, and named after Queen Victoria....

, a Hostel (New Belvedere House) in the East End of London, and retirement flats (Whitworth House) in Bexhill-on-sea

Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

, East Sussex.

According to Hugh Milroy, former RAF wing commander and chief executive of Veterans Aid, the charity focuses on three things:

1. Immediate practical support for UK ex-services veterans by veterans.


2. A non-judgemental approach to the individual - regardless of who they are or what they might have done in the past.


3. Working nationally to prevent Homelessness amongst ex-services personnel - supporting them and those who work for them.