SSAFA Devon

21/05/2026

12/05/2026

Tavistock Area Support Services

First World War Battlefields of Flanders

Trip Details:

Cost per person £420, £100 deposit to be paid by Monday 16 May 2026, £320 balance due Tuesday 4 August 2026

If you are booking as a single occupancy, there will be a single occupancy surcharge, however, if you would be prepared to share a room with another single occupancy person then you won’t have to pay the surcharge. Please confirm on booking if you would consider sharing.

The package includes:

Tuesday 20th to Friday 24th October 2026 - 4 days and 3 nights at the Hotel & Aparthotel Cateau Resort Mons, Belgium, including breakfast

Return ferry crossing

Private executive coach travel from the UK

Full use of the coach throughout your stay in Belgium

Excursions:

This tour is centred around the First World War battlefields of Flanders, offering time for quiet reflection, remembrance, and a deeper understanding of the events that shaped modern Europe.

A full day in Ypres, the heart of the Ypres Salient, including:

Guided time to explore the historic town

Visits to key WW1 sites in and around Ypres

Attendance at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in the evening — a deeply moving and symbolic act of remembrance that has taken place every night since 1928 in honour of the Commonwealth soldiers who never returned home

A dedicated visit to major Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries, allowing time to pay respects in a setting of dignity and quiet contemplation. These visits are often the most poignant moments of the tour, particularly for veterans wishing to reflect on service and sacrifice.

A visit to the Passchendaele Memorial Museum in Zonnebeke, offering an immersive and informative insight into life in the trenches, the realities faced by soldiers, and the significance of the Battle of Passchendaele. The museum combines original artefacts, reconstructions and personal stories, providing excellent historical context to the sites visited.

For more information or to book a place, please pop into the
TASS Anchorage Centre, Chapel Street, PL19 8AG (next to the bus station)

Tel: 01822 616958 Email: [email protected]

12/05/2026

28/04/2026

It's National Gardening Week! 🪴We wanted to take the opportunity to throwback to last year when our neighbouring SSAFA Devon branch launched the June Best Garden.

In partnership with the Gordon Messenger Centre, work on the garden started in 2024 with an incredible 250 volunteers coming together under the ethos of “by veterans for veterans” to bring the garden to life. Two years on, the garden has successfully transformed the area into a haven for relaxation, connection, and healing.🌷🌻🌿

Learn more about the garden here >> www.ssafa.org.uk/devon-1/devon/latest-news/june-best-sanctuary-garden-officially-opens-in-lympstone/

07/04/2026

📣Calling all veterans, serving personnel and their families in the Devon area.

Come and meet the SSAFA Devon team at the Gordon Messenger Centre's up-and-coming walk-in event.

The SSAFA team will be alongside The Royal Navy Family and People Support, The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust, The Naval Families Federation, Pinnacle, The Armed Forces Community Support Hub (Devon), Department for Work and Pensions, Forces Employment Charity, Skills Launchpad Plymouth and many more to offer a space for all and any questions.

Whether you need a listening ear, some advice, direction for a fresh start or want to know what to do 'just in case', this event is for you.

📅 Thursday 7, May
🕙 10:00 - 14:00
📍 The Gordon Messenger Centre, Commando Training Centre Royal Marines
Lympstone, Devon, EX8 5AR

If you're attending, make sure to come and say hi to our lovely SSAFA Devon volunteers 👋

29/03/2026

A lost memory found....So pleased to have recovered this superb image, lost during a computer upgrade, it was sent to us years back and means so much to the Baton family, I'm ashamed to say I have forgotten who sent it and would love to be connected again...Alan

27/03/2026

Chris Newenham, Managing Director of Wilkin & Sons Ltd (Tiptree) and Master of the The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, is set to run the next month in support of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, which has provided invaluable assistance to his family.

The marathon marks another chapter in Chris’s long-standing commitment to supporting SSAFA, following the charity’s help in recent years, particularly during the 100th birthday celebrations for his mother, Noelle.

Chris hails from a proud military family. His grandfather, Captain Percy Worth Newenham, served in the Royal Munster Fusiliers during , where he was wounded at Gallipoli but miraculously survived.

Chris’s father, Edward (Ted) Newenham, enlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, while his brother Worth joined Royal Air Force as a pilot. Though Ted was discharged from military service due to health issues after contracting rheumatic fever during basic training, he went on to live a full and healthy life until the age of 95.

Chris says: "My family's history is intertwined with the Armed Forces, and it has deeply shaped my appreciation for organisations like SSAFA. SSAFA’s unwavering support for my mother over the years, including their thoughtful gesture of presenting her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on her 100th birthday, has been exceptional. Their care goes above and beyond, and I am incredibly grateful."

SSAFA's work with Chris’s family has left a lasting impression, and he is determined to give back. His dedication to SSAFA aligns with the wider efforts of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, where he took on the role of Master in 2026. Over the last couple of years, the Company has focused much of its fundraising efforts on SSAFA, with Chris being part of a team that undertook the 13 Bridges Challenge in 2025.

As he trains for the TCS London Marathon, Chris’s thoughts are never far from the significance of this endeavour. "SSAFA is a remarkable organisation that continues to support service men and women and their families, often in ways that others might overlook.

"I’m proud to run in support of such a vital charity, knowing that every step I take will contribute to the wellbeing of the Armed Forces community."

To support Chris in his marathon fundraising efforts for SSAFA, please visit the link to his fundraising page in the comments below.