AFVBC Crawley & Horsham

12/08/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bosg9mBcK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Tomorrow, veterans, Chelsea Pensioners, volunteers and supporters will come together for the annual Chelsea Pensioner Veterans Outreach Picnic, a day built around friendship, connection and community 🎖️🙌

For many veterans, events like these are more than just a date in the diary. They are an opportunity to meet people who understand their experiences, build new friendships and feel part of something again.

That's exactly what the programme has meant for Veterans Outreach member Geri. After becoming involved with Veterans Outreach, she found a welcoming community, developed a strong support network and discovered a renewed sense of belonging through regular activities, events and meetups.

Whether it's sharing stories, enjoying a conversation over a cup of tea or simply knowing there's always someone there to talk to, Veterans Outreach helps veterans stay connected long after service has ended.

If you're a veteran, or know someone who could benefit from joining a supportive community, we'd love to welcome you.

Find out more today: https://loom.ly/xhOzt6U

06/08/2026

A fabulous evening, thank you to everyone.

30/07/2026

Poppy Appeal 2025
Last night at Three Bridges Football Club the Crawley & District Branch poppy sellers got together as a thank you for all the hard work for last years RBL Poppy Appeal. A true celebration of how much Crawley residents had raised for this annual RBL flagship campaign. Wait for it a massive £74,664.49. Thank you Crawley.
The simple act of wearing a poppy sends a personal message of thanks and support for the Armed Forces community to see, and we ask the public not to underestimate the impact that wearing a poppy has on those who serve, and their families.
A big shout out goes to Paul Faili & his staff at Three Bridges Football Club for hosting us, Paul Furber 4 PWRR for his expert knowledge & help, Vines BMW Crawley for paying for the curry.

The curry was provided by Tamashah Curry House, Crawley. As a club we will certainly be going there in the future, the curry was exceptional.

If you would like to get involved in the 2026 Poppy Appeal, leave a comment and your details and we will get back to you

24/07/2026

Today three club members were fortunate to be invited to the West Sussex Armed Forces Conference held in Horsham. A great opportunity to meet like minded people and the community that is trying to improve support to the Armed Forces family and veteran community in Sussex.

We had an amazing presentation By Clair Lilly who unfortunately lost her husband Andy to su***de, this was despite calling the police when he was in crisis. As a result she had worked tirelessly to build a system that helps the veteran community and Police to understand the situation better and its called The Enforcerprotocol. If anyone knows a veteran in crisis be that immediate or they are suffering then you can put their details into the site or download the form and complete it. This helps should the crisis deepen and support is needed.

Clair was accompanied by Sussex Police Officers and the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne OBE as today was their official launch of the Enforcerprotocol in Sussex. https://forcerprotocol.org/

In addition to this presentation we met Cathryn French from Arun District Council, who demonstrated how supporting the council was towards Veterans and the Armed Forces Personnel. The Council has 19 Armed Forces Champions across all departments and they provide a host of support functions. Their guide can be found at https://www.arun.gov.uk/download/armed-forces-and-veterans-guidepdf.pdf?ver=31626&original

We also had discussions with our Mark Hannigan from Op COMMUNITY who has helped a number of our veterans with NHS support. Plus Craig Winskill-Hales our DWP Armed Forces Champion was present and touched base on issues in our area.

Overall a great event and good to see Jane and Andy from LHAFVBC too.

04/07/2026

Happy Birthday to our wonderful WW2 veteran George Durrant, a true hero.

George Ingram Durrant was born at 16 Wadhurst Road, Nine Elms, Battersea on 4 July 1924, second son of Arthur Ingram Durrant, licensed victualler, of 333 Eversleigh Road, Battersea and his wife Emily Ellen, widow of Ernest Cowdrey and daughter of Harry Izzard Honeysett, crane driver, of 49 Sterndale...

03/07/2026

The Gatwick School & Armed Forces Day at Crawley Memorial
On Saturday 27th June, we were honoured to take part in the Armed Forces Day celebrations at Crawley Memorial.
This year’s event held particular significance for The Gatwick School because of the special relationship we have developed with the local Crawley & Horsham Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club.
We were especially proud that our students – Maisie, Sumanohara, Olamide, Anthony, Oakley, Cherno, Chloe, Christiana, Brooke, and Oliver, who had the opportunity to represent The Gatwick School at this important community event. They were outstanding ambassadors for our school, demonstrating respect, pride, and professionalism throughout the morning.
The parade began at 10:00am, led by the marching band, with representatives from each branch of the Armed Forces taking part. Our students proudly marched towards the rear of the parade, alongside veterans in civilian dress, accompanied by our teacher, Mr Callaghan, and school volunteer, Mr Prior.
The procession started at the bandstand, completed a lap of the memorial grounds, and returned to the bandstand for the flag-raising ceremony. Everyone stood together in respectful silence as the flag was raised, followed by a number of speeches recognising the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces. The event concluded with the parade being formally dismissed.
We are incredibly proud of our students for representing our school with such respect, dignity, and pride.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this a memorable and meaningful occasion, and to the Crawley & Horsham Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club for the continued partnership that helps our students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of our Armed Forces and veteran community.

28/06/2026

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Today it was the Horsham side of C&HAFVBC taking part in the Armed Forces Day celebrations in the town’s Carfax, in conjunction with Horsham District Council and the Horsham Royal British Legion.

Firstly, a huge thank you to the team who turned up early to erect the club gazebo and set up our stand for the day. A special thanks goes to Liz Groves for organising the raffle, which I believe raised a significant amount of money. Also, a big thank you to Eddie McCourt for his excellent display of military cab badges and memorabilia , which proved a real hit with both the public and fellow veterans.

We were privileged and honoured to have two remarkable veterans join us: George Durrant, a Burma Star veteran, and Bob Piper a D-Day veteran. Both gentlemen are an incredible 101 years old and inspired countless photographs throughout the day. We salute you both.

We were also delighted to be joined by two members of the RCH, Billy Knowles (RRF) and Ted Heath (Queen’s Regiment). Thank you both for giving up your time to be with us and helping to make the day so special.

It’s fair to say it was a fantastic day and, dare I say it, it even felt better than last year’s event! The WWII veterans joined the ladies for some wonderful performances of wartime songs, while George treated us to a superb song from his time serving in Burma, followed by a brilliant harmonica performance that perfectly accompanied his stories of his experiences there.
We were also fortunate to have a fly pass by a WW2 Hurricane fighter plane excellent.

All in all, it was a tremendous day. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible. The teamwork, camaraderie and banter throughout the day were absolutely outstanding.

Finally, I nearly forgot to mention the excellent full English breakfast at The Commodore, which got us off to a great start before the day’s proceedings began! 🇬🇧

16/05/2026

C&HAFVBC all set up and ready to go @ Amberley Museum Home Front weekend