Armed Forces Day events to take place across Peterborough, Stamford and Rutland
Thousands of current and former members of the Armed Forces will be celebrating
Events are taking place across Peterborough, Stamford and Rutland for Armed Forces Day today, to mark a culmination of a week of celebrations across the country.
A special Rutland Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club meeting is taking place at the Grainstore Brewery in Oakham.
A special Armed Forces Weekend event is also being held in Whittlesey, where there will be military vehicles of old and new, as well as a number of re-enactment groups and live music performances.
Helen Carter, who served in the army and now runs the Veteran's Wellbeing Hub supporting ex-military personnel in Rutland, said: "It's a special day for people that have served in the Armed Forces as well as those that are still serving...
....obviously we have Remembrance Sunday which is a very important time as well. We remember those that have fallen, but this is a specific day to remember those that have served and I think that's really important because a lot of us have given up our time, not just in terms of working for the services, but also in terms of supporting each other afterwards as well".
Ms Carter said her service has seen an increase in demand since it launched in 2022, and that occasions like Armed Forces Day are important to come together and show support for friends and family.
"We're still relatively new, but we are growing and we see now between 25 and 30 veterans a week...
...every Friday, 10am till 1pm, we have a support drop-in centre here for people that might want to get support for their mental health and well-being..."
She added: "We started with maybe two or three veterans and now we're regularly seeing more veterans. They might just come in for the support and then that's fine and they can then know we're here if they ever need us...
...So for me as a veteran, it's great to be able to help other veterans as well; I think it brings people together, It gives them an opportunity to meet others and also that support network is really important".
Find out more information about the Veteran's Wellbeing Hub, part of the Loughborough Wellbeing Cafe, here: https://www.thewellbeingcafe.org/veterans-wellbeing-hub