A weekend breakfast club is up and running for serving or former members of the armed forces.
The Huddersfield Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club meets at the Yorkshire Rose pub on Leeds Road, Hillhouse, near Huddersfield town centre on the first Sunday of the month and is a great place for ex services personnel to meet and chat about their service days and what they’re doing now.
It’s part of a nationwide network of armed forces and veterans clubs and the Huddersfield one is run by Martin Hellawell who served in the territorial army for 19 years from 1976 to 1995, rising to the rank of sergeant major.
Martin, 65, of Dalton, began his service with the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers in Huddersfield which later became the 3rd Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.
He is also the former secretary of the 3 Yorks Association which meets every couple of months at Moldgreen Liberal Club and has around 80 members.
The breakfast club meets at 10am and there is free tea and coffee with a discounted breakfast price for members.
Ex service personnel can just turn up on the day but would need to bring their veterans’ badge with them.
Martin said: “There’s plenty of space in the pub with an area reserved for us so it’s usually quiet. It’s open to any serving or retired people who may have been in the armed forces full-time or been in the territorials or a reservist. Many are in their 30s and 40s.”
The club now has members from the Dukes, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Artillery and the Royal Corps of Transport. People from the RAF and Royal Navy are also welcome to join them.
Martin said: “There’s a real sense of camaraderie and belonging and everyone has a story to tell.”
Trips can be organised to places such as Eden Camp World War Two museum in North Yorkshire and clay pigeon shooting.
The next breakfast club will be on Sunday, January 7, at 10am.
Just turn up on the day or contact the club via its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/afvbc.huddersfield?locale=en_GB
For the national Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Clubs website go to https://www.afvbc.com/
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
