8 Nov 2023

Babcock strengthens its support for the British Army

Babcock has announced a new charity partnership to assist serving soldiers, veterans and their families.

We’re pleased to be joining forces with the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF), the British Army’s national charity, to support a number of its key events.

The partnership will play a significant role in supporting ABF to continue in its mission to provide lifetime support to individuals in need through a variety of initiatives including, supplying mobility equipment to help an injured veteran stay active and independent, clearing priority debt for an Army family who lost their income and faces eviction, and providing training to help a service leaver to build a sustainable second career.

Through the multi-year partnership, Babcock will sponsor two of the charity’s landmark events – the Cateran Yomp (pictured), a gruelling 24 hour, 54-mile trek across the stunning Scottish Highlands, which takes place in June, and Operation Bletchley, a series of codebreaking challenges which sees participants tackle testing codes, explore the great outdoors and uncover a historical secret message to deliver to Winston Churchill before time runs out.

Tom Newman, CEO of Babcock’s Land Sector, said: “We are delighted to be able to join forces with ABF to support their vital work and much needed help for our serving soldiers, veterans and their families.

“We work side by side with the British Army delivering critical equipment, support and essential technical training, as well as providing employment opportunities for service leavers and reservists. This partnership with ABF not only reinforces our long-standing relationship, but also enables us to further strengthen our support by inspiring the next generation of the Army family, helping them develop the skills and attitudes of future soldiers and supporting STEM learning and wellbeing outcomes.”

In 2021/2022 ABF spent £8.4 million supporting 65,000 members of the British Army family in 48 countries around the world.

Major General Tim Hyams CB OBE, Chief Executive, Army Benevolent Fund said: “We are so grateful to all our fundraisers and supporters for their incredible generosity, which enables us to ensure that soldiers, veterans, and their immediate families have the opportunity to avoid hardship and enjoy independence and dignity.  We are very much looking forward to seeing you all in Scotland in June, when we will be joined by this year’s Ambassador, Mark Harding, who was awarded the Inspiration Award at the 2023 Soldiering On Awards in recognition of his amazing fundraising activities and sheer courage in overcoming injuries sustained on operations in Afghanistan.”