Altrincham FC and the Armed Forces

Altrincham FC and the Armed Forces

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How does Altrincham FC engage with the Armed Forces

 

 

Based in Greater Manchester, Altrincham Fc are a professional football club that currently play in the Vanorama National League. They started to develop their ties with the local veteran community back in 2018.

A local veterans organisation Trafford Veterans CIC, approached Altrincham FC Community Manager, Simon Dow, with a view to strengthening the ties between veterans and local sports clubs.

Since then, their relationship has gone from strength to strength, with the club and its fanbase taking their local veteran community to heart.

Simon Dow tells us more about the ways they have been able to provide resources that local forces members can benefit from. One of which was registering Trafford Vets CIC on the Alty For All Scheme, which sees companies and individuals buying discounted Season tickets to donate to a charity of their choice. 

 

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Simon

 

“Donating some season tickets to Trafford Veterans CIC was one way we felt we could support the charity and its various users.
The season tickets enable veterans to attend the matches free of charge and provides them with the opportunity to engage with the club”. Simon-Altrincham FC Community Manager

 

Claire of Trafford veterans CIC feels that the season tickets are more valuable than the club realises.

 

“The armed forces is a community in its own right and when people leave they still often want that sense of belonging. Football is another community that they can be a part of whilst still spending time with fellow veterans” Claire-Trafford Vets

 

 

Providing The Armed Forces Community With A Home

 

 

 

trafford veterans CIC

 

 

Often local organisations are in need of premises for regular events and Altrincham Football Club soon realised they could make good use of one of their rooms by offering it to the veteran’s organisation on a monthly basis.

This monthly get together has become a popular event with the attendees and is run in a relaxed style with activities and food available. Having an indoor facility means the veterans can continue to benefit from each other’s company even in adverse weather conditions. This reduces feelings of isolation during colder months, particularly for older veterans.

“The monthly support meetings are a fantastic initiative and one that we really wanted to support. Providing the room is a small way that we can support the brilliant work that goes on”.-Simon Dow

 

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Claire and Chris of Trafford Veterans were delighted when the football club very generously offered to give them some permanent advertising pitch side. 

“Anything that increases our visibility in the community and helps us to reach more veterans is really helpful. There are people that benefit from our services who might not know we existed if it wasn’t for Altrincham FC promoting us to the football community”- Claire Wright 

Simon goes on to give an example of the Altringham supporters getting involved with Trafford Vets,

“We were delighted to support the Trafford Veterans Ukraine appeal at the start of the conflict, we were one of the designated drop off points for medical supplies, sleeping bags, clothes, toiletries etc. The response from our fan base and user groups was amazing, but the big credit goes to Claire & Chris for organising it all and making sure the supplies go to where they needed to go”.

 

More Armed Forces Support

 

 

 

Trafford Veterans CIC  is not the only armed forces community that benefits from the generosity of the club and its fan base. They are also avid supporters of Help For Heroes terraces and troops

A different charity is authorised to collect donations at each home match and Alty Fc have a planned for Help For Heroes on 1st April 2023 when Altrincham play Notts County.

Both Trafford Vets and Help For Heroes are assigned a match this season to promote their cause and this also includes promotion in the match day programme. Mentions in programmes helps the charity message reach more homes and potentially support more veterans in the community.

 

We spoke to Rhys Edwards, Area fundraising manager for Help For Heroes about this. 

“Help for Heroes are excited to be invited to collect at the Altrincham FC ground and look forward to attending the match in April.

Help for Heroes believes those who serve our country deserve support when they’re wounded. Every day, men and women have to leave their career in the Armed Forces as a result of physical or psychological wounds; their lives changed forever.

The Charity helps them, and those still serving, to recover and get on with their lives by providing physical, psychological, financial and welfare support for as long as they need it. It also supports their families because they too can be affected by their loved one’s challenges.

Help for Heroes receives almost no funding from the Government, which means it relies on the spirit and generosity of the great British public, its partners, and volunteers to keep going. It has already supported more than 27,000 people and won’t stop until every wounded veteran and their family gets the support they deserve. You can find out more and support us by visiting Our Website.

 

 

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Remembrance Day 2022 was commemorated when Altrincham FC played York City on the 12th of November.

Trafford veterans sent along representatives of the forces to lay a wreath on the pitch ahead of the match, and they were also supported by flag bearers and a bugle player.

The following day, the wreath was placed on the local cenotaph as a mark of respect for all the lives affected by conflict.

 

 

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The players sported kit that featured the poppy in a mark of Remembrance, with the silence observed impeccably throughout the ground. All usual opposing fan banter is forgotten in these moments where football fans stand shoulder to shoulder on the same side. The side of respect.

Community manager Simon Dow clearly feels that the commitments they have made to their local veteran community are long term, as the benefits are numerous not only for those in the armed forces family, but for the football club too. We will be checking back with Altrincham Fc next year to see how this amazing relationship is developing.

If you would like to help in any way with Altrincham FC Community projects then email Simon on  simon@altrinchamfootballclub.co.uk

For contributions to Trafford veterans contact Claire on info@traffordveterans.org

 

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Royal Green Jacket Reservist and QPR Fan

Royal Green Jacket Reservist and QPR Fan

royal green jacketFormer Royal Green Jacket Reservist and avid QPR fan Mark, is on yet another challenge to raise funds for veterans charities. This time taking on a running challenge in aid of Help For Heroes.

We caught up to talk about his Grandfathers imprisonment as a Japanese POW. His love for all things QPR, his time as a RGJR  and the charitable work he has continued to do for Veterans.

 

 

Royal Green Jacket Reservist-6 years

green jacket poppy pin

Back in 1993 Mark was a Reservist Rifleman in the 4RGJ out of Central London. He volunteered for 3 years Then like so many other people, he stepped forward again in 2001 at the start of the Afghan conflict and did another 3 years in the 5RRV out of Milton Keynes. This was a Royal Green Jacket company in a combined battalion.

 

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We chatted about football supporters within the forces 

England games were always a bit of a raucous affair .Like anywhere there was always a lot of banter about club football. More so in 4RGJ due to its Central London location. A mix of just about every football team being supported meant a lot of inter club banter but always light hearted unless- your team had just been mauled. In 5RRV out of Milton Keynes it was less so, probably due to it being before poor old Wimbledon got moved and relocated.- Mark Peel

 

As a Reservist, Marks weekends were spent training in case they were called up for active duty, so he never got the chance to play football. He did however enjoy playing prior to making a commitment to the 4RGJ Res.

 

I did play a lot of football away from the Reserves though. I was a goalkeeper from youth levels through to Sunday league with Milton Keynes Sunday. I had the privilege of playing at Loftus Road and Wembley as a kid which as a QPR fan was magical.

 

A Way Of Lifeqpr poppy pin

 

Like many of us, Mark was brought up in the way of life, with both his Dad and Step-Dad taking him along to QPR games from an early age. 

My very 1st QPR game is a bit of football history. September 1st 1981. I was a 5 year old attending QPR vs Luton from the Ellerslie Road stand. It was the 1st game in EFL  history to take place on astro turf. We used to call it the plastic pitch. Like so many days and games since then, my 1st taste of QPR football was fraught with distress at a loss. 

One of Marks most sentimental matches was going to Wembley to watch QPR beat Derby in the play off finals. Not only was this a fantastic result but a testament to his close relationships with his family.

That was alongside both my Dad and Step Dad, both of whom had seen the QPR V West Bromich final in 1967 (before my time).

 

qpr veteranFamily Military History

 

We touch on why he continues to fund raise for Veterans, and its clear that his family military history has had a big impact.

My Step Dad was a Royal Fusilier and one of the last generation to do National Service. He served during the Suez Canal Crisis. My Grand Dad served in WW2 and was unlucky enough to be take prisoner by the Japanese. Luckily he made it home in the end. There’s a mixed bag of other service amongst the whole family

 

So what about your latest fundraising challenge? 

 

I chose Help For Heroes as the challenge they are doing (move 100 miles in September) tied in with my attempt to get fit again. I decided to pledge to do the entire thing as a running challenge over the course of the month. I had previously done a sponsored walk for H4H and also a ‘Britains Bravest Military Challenge’ for Royal British Legion Industries. Pretty much any fundraising I do is for military support charities. As a Veteran it’s something close to my heart. I am lucky as I have all my fingers and toes still, even if my hearing is a bit whack. But many of the guys and gals don’t and I feel its only right to give back when I am so lucky. I genuinely believe our service personal, both young and old deserve so much more support than they get.

 

You can support Mark  by visiting his link and Making A Small Donation Here, or simply by sharing this article on your social media platforms, website or even mailing list. It would be great of you could share this within football and veteran organisations.

 

*This article may contain affiliate links to enable us to pay for site hosting*.

 

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