Friday 1 February 2008

Association of British Ex Service Personnel


I have written before about the excellent work that the Association of British Ex Service Personnel (ABEX) does on behalf of Servicemen whether they are still serving or have left the armed forces. Their Mission Statement says it all:-

The aim of ABEX is to promote and support the welfare of ex service personnel and their dependants, and those organizations whose agents have risked life and limb in the service of this country, through democratic representation to ensure fair and equitable treatment within our society.
Membership is open to all who would like to support all current or ex service personnel and their immediate family and works out at £2 a month. A small price to pay for the sacrifice these people make on our behalf. You can read about their projects and causes here. They deal with:-
  • Housing.
  • Retraining opportunities and the lobbing of employers.
  • Withdrawal of troops from arenas in which British interests are not threatened.
  • Support for service personnel & families on leaving service.
  • Support county regiment associations.
  • Dedicated mental health service.
All worthwhile as I am sure you will agree. We as a nation should be ashamed of reading stories such as this and this.

And regardless of whether you are an ex/serviceman or civilian, they have an active forum where you can stay in contact with comrades and read the views of all.

Recently ABEX have again been contacted by a Film production company that is looking for someone with a military history or are a family member or friend of someone that has lost a loved one due to war or Post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) or has a story to tell.

The documentary will be for BBC2 and is scheduled for broadcast around Remembrance Day this year. All that is required at this stage is a quick telephone chat with one of their producers.

If you are sadly one of the above then in the first instance please email Norman@Abex.org.uk if you are interested in assisting.

The British National Party is proud to support organisations like ABEX and their members.

Could fellow bloggers please link to or promote the above. Thank you.


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1 comment:

Ronbo said...

As a veteran of the U.S. Army and a card carrying member of the American Legion, I give this British veterans’ organization two thumbs up!

I should note that while stationed in Berlin during the dark days of the Cold War (1974-77) my unit was co-located with the Royal Army and RAF at the Teufelsberg (Devil's Mountain) Communication Site in the British Sector of Berlin where we jointly kept watch on the doings of the GSFG (Group Soviet Forces Germany) in Eastern Germany (DDR) which completely surrounded West Berlin with some 22 divisions.

At Teufelsberg the American and British signal intelligence (SIGINT) were housed in separate buildings, but shared the same common areas like the Mess Hall, and both sides had unlimited access to the areas under the control of the other Ally. What the British knew about the Russians we knew and vice versa. The stamp on our documents read, "Top Secret US/UK Eyes Only."

Today Teufelsberg is a ruin that will shortly be destroyed and hauled to the dump, but the mission was accomplished. When the British and Americans entered Berlin it was a city of ruins with a terrible case of Nazi fever surrounded by a sea of Communism. When the last of the Western Allies withdrew in 1994, Berlin was restored to its rightful place as a free and beautiful city.

I've often wondered what happened to the British military personnel I served with in Berlin. I can remember late at night talking with members of the Royal Army about the history of their regiments, which was quite interesting. I think we of the U.S. Army realized were the new kids in the role of Global Policeman.