TA soldiers take their employers to Buckingham Palace
10 July 2008
Hundreds of Territorial Army soldiers from across the UK will today take their civilian employers to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace to thank them for their support. The Garden Party, which is being attended by HRH The Earl of Wessex and HRH The Princess Royal, is being held to celebrate the centenary of the TA.
The over four hundred employers attending represent all sizes and types of organisations and come from as far north as the Isle of Lewis and as far south as the island of Jersey. They include Network Rail, Lloyds TSB, 3M UK Plc, Merseyside Police, North East Wales NHS Trust and South Lanarkshire Council.
Tim Corry, the Director of SaBRE (Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers), which organised for the employers to attend, said:
"A crucial factor in the TA's success over the last 100 years has been the support, encouragement and understanding of many of the UK's employers. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Reservists to thank their employers for their support with a very special day out.
"Employers attending today's Garden Party have supported their Reservist employees in a variety of ways - from enabling them to work more flexibly so they can fulfil their training commitments to supporting them whilst they were mobilised, keeping in contact with them via letter and email or helping their family out whilst they are away.
Reservist Phillippa Batchelor, who works for 3M UK Plc and has been in the TA for 3.5 years said:
"3M has supported me throughout my time in the TA, including giving me extra time off to attend my two weeks of annual TA training and my training at Sandhurst to become an officer. In May (2008) I returned from six months in Iraq, with pre-deployment training I was mobilised in total for a 11.5 month period. 3M has been fantastically supportive, sending regular emails, letters and parcels - which really help to maintain morale when you are so far from home."
Dr Suzanne Shea, Technical Manager, Design & Graphics Group from 3M UK Plc said:
"3M recognises the very valuable role the Territorial Army plays and people in the TA like Phillippa deserve the support of their employers - support we are delighted to give."
The TA has around 36,000 soldiers throughout the UK. They are civilians who train for their military role in the evenings, at weekends and for a two-week period each year. Since 2003, over 15,000 members have been mobilised for full time service in Iraq or Afghanistan. They serve alongside their Regular colleagues on the front line with units including the SAS and The Parachute Regiment and also provide essential support in areas such as engineering, medical services, communications and logistics.
The Garden Party is one of the many events that are being held to commemorate the centenary of the Territorial Army. These have included a pageant on Horse Guards Parade and a service in St Paul's Cathedral, with 'Uniform to Work' Day scheduled to take place on 16th July 2008.
Related information
- More information about TA100, the programme of events to mark the centenary of the TA is at www.TA100.co.uk
- See case studies from Reservists who attend the event
- Media coverage of the event (video): BBC News
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