CELEBRITY SUPPORTERS
Tickets for Troops
How a simple idea – giving something back – is enhancing some hard- won leisure time for our troops. BY STUART HIGGINS, charity director
S
imple ideas, they say, are always the best. ‘It does what it says on the tin’ is another favourite phrase to describe the
effectiveness of an advertising campaign or a product. Tickets For Troops has no embarrassment at qualifying in both categories. Launched in November last year and now
established as a not-for-profit charity, we believe we have made and continue to make a difference to the lives and leisure time of our Armed Services. We are not trying to raise buckets of money; we
are simply trying to twist the arms, gently persuade, cajole and nudge organisations of all kinds – big and small – to offer us great wads of free tickets which we can then hand on to our soldiers, sailors and airmen and women. Simple mechanic, simple idea. So from Manchester United, to London Wasps,
to Surrey cricket, to the Royal Opera House, to Christmas pantos, to horse racing and dog racing, Tickets For Troops has been flying its flag. For me, as an ex-editor of The Sun newspaper,
which loudly and proudly supported our boys under my stewardship and continues to do so in such a brilliant and important way, Tickets For Troops has been a truly inspiring revelation. The truth is that, as a country, we have suddenly
woken up to the sacrifices, the courage and the leadership qualities of young men and women in the Armed Forces. There is, in my opinion, a collective guilty
conscience about our treatment of the military and we are all trying to compensate for that. That conscience and respect has been made more
poignant by the heart-breaking home-coming of Union Flag-draped coffins through our streets, now thankfully lined with moist-eyed men and women and children, unrelated to those we have lost but no longer unconnected to our nation’s loss.
But in truth, there is a lot more to be done. We
need to support those returning home suffering from post-traumatic stress as well as those with more visible and physical injuries and the many military charities, including Help For Heroes, Combat Stress and the newly-named Soldiers’ Charity, that are doing an excellent job. Tickets For Troops is for the Armed Forces and no
one else. There are no posh VIPs sat in hospitality boxes. There are no big salaries – in fact, our young and energetic Operations Director Raleigh Addington – whose brother Ed of 2 Rifles, was injured in Afghanistan last year, is our only paid member of staff and deserves every penny. There may well be people who have never been
on the frontline, but our view is that everyone is doing their bit, even if they are sat at a desk in Whitehall. We have an inspirational Chairman in Lord
Marland, a former treasurer of the Conservative party. Our patrons include Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, Sir Ian Botham, Joanna Lumley, Dame Kelly Holmes, Freddie Flintoff, General Sir Michael Jackson, Gary Lineker, Lawrence Dallaglio and Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry VC. We are doing our best to collect as many tickets
as possible and increase the chances of everyone getting their hands on some. Our latest achievement was to be given partnership status by the Football Association for the international match between England and Mexico at Wembley. It was the last match before England went off to
the World Cup in South Africa and was known as the Tickets For Troops International. Over 1,000 tickets were made available to troops and their families. •
As long as you support us we will support you. For more information or to register go to www.
ticketsfortroops.org.uk
Words of appreciation from members of the Armed Forces
Just a quick note to pass on my sincere thanks to you all for arranging my free tickets for the Wasps and Bath game at Twickenham yesterday. It was a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience to walk onto the pitch to cheers from 60,000 people, and I’ll definitely be thinking of the support of the great British public when I go out to Afghanistan in a few months’ time. I took my dad along to the game, who enjoyed it as much as I did, and we have now donated to your charity. Would you mind also passing my thanks on to your contacts at London Wasps who donated the tickets? Thanks again for a great day. Stu Keenan, Squadron Leader, RAF Northolt
Hi, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for a fantastic day yesterday. Both my family and myself felt that the occasion was extra special, once again a very appreciative member of the Armed Forces. Ian Hobbs
I felt I had to write to thank you everyone at Wasps for yesterday’s St George’s Day Game and in particular the Tickets for Troops initiative. To get the opportunity to walk out onto the Twickenham pitch in front of 60,000 supporters was incredible – from start to finish the entire experience was fantastic for both myself and my family. Please pass on my sincerest thanks to everyone involved. Curns, P R CURNOW, Squadron Leader
www.armedforcesday.org.uk SHOW YOUR SUPPORT 75
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100