COVID-19 has made us even more grateful for those who work on our behalf than ever before. We’ve clapped outside our homes, banged pans together and had pipers playing up and down the street to say thank you to key workers.  It has also made us value the freedoms we may have taken for granted that those in the Armed Forces fought, and continue to fight, so hard to preserve. 

With the Covid crisis throwing us all into challenging times, one of the silver linings of the situation is the way in which we’ve seen individuals, communities and organisations rally together to support each other and help get everyone through. For the charities offering practical and emotional support to our veterans, continuing to deliver vital regular services under lockdown restrictions has been key, whilst also responding to new requirements brought about by the pandemic.

It has been a few weeks since my last blog and while much has happened across the world and here in the UK, in some ways things still seem remarkably the same.  The lockdown is being eased but is not over yet.  Numbers of new cases and deaths from Covid-19 have declined but the virus is still with us, and all of us and our families are still being hugely affected by this pandemic.

This is a seminal moment in our history in so many ways.  Never before have we been subjected to so many restrictions in peacetime and yet, collectively, we understand why.  Our education, relative affluence and access to instant news, created through many years of peace at home, allows us to recognise that in extraordinary times, there is a need for extraordinary measures.

This Friday 8 May marks 75 years since World War Two in Europe came to an end. Throughout the world, people are being encouraged to reflect on the sacrifice and courage of the millions who played their part 75 years ago – from Armed Forces personnel who bravely fought, to the men and women who stayed at home to aid the war effort and safeguard the home front.