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April 20, 2026
Edinburgh: Womens Rise and Rnew - Wellbeing workshops for women with a military connection
Northern Ireland: Step by Step in Remembrance - Northern Ireland's Veterans Commissioner Office Sponsored Walk - 1st - 6th June
This June, the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner’s Office will be undertaking a sponsored walk to mark the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
Over 6 days, across 6 counties, covering 60 miles, we will walk in remembrance of those who served, while supporting two incredible charities:
Somme Association
Air Ambulance Northern Ireland
We warmly invite veterans, their families, and supporters to join us along the way, whether for a full day or just a few miles.
Walk Schedule:
• 1 June – County Antrim: Cullybackey → Ballymena → Broughshane
• 2 June – County Down: Annalong → Kilkeel
• 3 June – County Armagh: Armagh → Portadown
• 4 June – County Fermanagh: Brookeborough → Enniskillen
• 5 June – County Tyrone: Dungannon → Cookstown
• 6 June – County Londonderry: Castlerock → Coleraine → Portrush
Start times for each day will be shared on our Facebook page closer to the time, so please keep an eye out for updates.
This is more than a walk, it’s a chance to reflect, remember, and stand together as a community.
To support the cause, please donate via the QR code or the link below:
www.paypal.com/GB/fundraiser/charity/5826916
Your support means a great deal. We hope to see you there.
#WalkInRemembrance #Somme110 #VeteransNI #Community
Information provided by HIVE NI
April 19, 2026
April 17, 2026
Motorfinity: April Newsletter
Motorfinity - April Update
Welcome to the April Motorfinity newsletter! We’re excited to bring you our latest updates, including a Working Well Community podcast with Dr Paige Chana, fresh vehicle insights, theme park competition and helpful new content. This month is all about supporting wellbeing, unlocking savings, and sharing value across your teams.
Clinical psychologist Dr Paige Chana offers powerful insights into supporting wellbeing in complex healthcare environments, showing how psychological approaches can benefit both patients and staff.
New Car Discount with Motorfinity
NHS staff, Armed Forces, Social Care, Emergency Services and Education staff can save thousands on a brand-new car through Motorfinity.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/PMJHYD8KCUw?si=VfTKzic-BEFLRfLE
👉 We’d love your support—please feel free to share this with colleagues and teams who could benefit from these exclusive savings.
New Vehicle Review: Changan Deepal S07 UK
Explore our latest review of the Changan Deepal S07 and see how it performs on UK roads.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/LoPebH2IIuE?si=7FEPqI-Qk6F9jf4B
Podcast Feature: Dr Paige Chana
As part of the Working Well Community and Motorfinity’s newly launched Full Tank Thinking podcast series, this conversation was recorded at the Health & Wellbeing at Work Event 2026. It explores NHS workforce pressures, systemic wellbeing, and how psychology can help shape healthier workplaces across sectors.
Topics include:
Defence Update: Armed Forces Families and Safeguarding Overseas Survey 2025 results published
The Armed Forces Families and Safeguarding (AFFS) team commissioned a survey aimed at Armed Forces families living overseas to better understand their lived experience and provide an evidence base to help review current policy processes and develop future policy. The survey was issued to Serving personnel including dual-Serving and spouses/partners assigned overseas.
To view the results of the survey, please go to this link: Armed Forces Families and Safeguarding Overseas Survey 2025 - GOV.UK
Defence Update: Helping our people understand the Armed Forces Covenant’s support and extension
Helping our people understand the Armed Forces Covenant’s support and extension
A grant of £370,000 has been awarded to drive awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant – helping more Service personnel and families to access support and understand how the Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty extension, as part of the Armed Forces Bill, will directly benefit them.
The Army Families Federation (AFF) will receive the grant on behalf of the Tri-Service Families Federations, which includes the AFF, Naval Families Federation and the RAF Families Federation. Together, they will develop the Covenant Awareness Programme, coordinating efforts with other relevant organisations.
Funded for two years by the Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Families Fund, the Covenant Awareness Programme will:
- Significantly improve awareness and understanding of the Armed Forces Covenant by creating and sharing resources and engaging with Service families.
- Enhance the well-being and resilience of Service families through better access to resources and support networks.
- Inform Service families of how the Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty extension through the Armed Forces Bill – which is progressing through Parliament – will positively impact them.
Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner Statement, in respect to Coagh Inquest Appeal Ruling
Yesterday's Appeal Court ruling by Lady Chief Justice Keegan, that a coroner was legally entitled to find a SAS soldier justified in shooting an unarmed IRA driver, as part of a collective terrorist threat to life, is to be welcomed. Lady Chief Justice Keegan said the SAS member ( Soldier B ) who opened fire, at an IRA terrorist attack in Coagh in 1991, had responded proportionately in a lethal situation, a fact already established at the initial inquest and an appeal.
This ruling also highlights the ongoing concerns that veterans have with the wider legacy process and some of the current proposals contained within the Troubles Bill. For many veterans, this ‘lawfare’, particularly through the coronial system, has become the punishment. Lady Chief Justice Keegan was clear in stating the grounds of this legal challenge were not the purpose of Judicial Reviews. In other words, this is a misuse of the legal system.
Millions of pounds of public money is being channelled into legal cases that lack any substance, consuming court time and prolonging hardship for veterans and their families who are more often than not, left in limbo for years.
I also welcome the public comments of the SAS Regimental Association and the retired Generals who understand, better than anyone, the challenging nature of operations like Coagh, where soldiers, sent by the UK Government, found themselves in combat situations facing armed terrorists.
As Veterans Commissioner, I will continue to advocate for a legacy process that ensures fairness for all. I will continue to highlight the ‘lawfare’ strategy being used, particularly through coroners inquests, that seeks to create a narrative of wholesale demonisation of those who served, the vast majority of whom did so, with huge restraint and professionalism.
Information provided by HIVE NI
April 16, 2026
Celebrating Forces Families Livestream on 24 April
Friday 24th April 26 is when the Celebrating Forces Families Awards Evening will be taking place at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, London from 5.30 pm until 00.30 am.
If you are unable to join on the night you can join the live stream, from the comfort of your own home, with best PJ’s at the ready. The livestream will run from 8.15 pm until appox. 11 pm and will capture the evening’s events as they happen.
All you need is a device with a good connection and follow the link that will be sent direct to your inbox after registering.
Book your tickets at this link to ensure you have all the information you require: Livestream — Celebrating Forces Families
Edinburgh: Defence Garden Scheme and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh workshops
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