TA Soldiers are the hidden heroes in our community. Dedicated and professional, they balance their civilian lives with a regular commitment to training and, when called upon, serve alongside their colleagues in the regular army.

Winston Churchill referred to the TA soldiers as being "twice a citizen" – squeezing two jobs, two lives into the space in which others barely have time for one.

During this centenary year the Northumberland Branch of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA Forces Help) would like to extend sincere thanks to the men and women of Berwick upon Tweed, Alnwick, Morpeth, Ashington, Blyth and Hexham areas who unflinchingly dedicate themselves to their TA duties.

With the ongoing pressures on our Tri Service community, TA and Reserve members have been mobilised in numbers unprecedented in recent history.

These reserve forces leave their civilian lives and families at home
while they are deployed in the battle-zones of Iraq and Afghanistan with all its hardships and dangers.

While they are away, families, left at home, undergo the stresses of having a loved one on the frontline but without all the support of the established military community. Having experienced situations that may be unimaginable to many of us, they return and occasionally find it difficult to settle back into a civilian life.

SSAFA Forces Help in rural Northumberland supports all those who serve, those who used to serve and the families of both and this includes our TA and Reserve Forces past and present. Our 40 volunteer members are able to provide practical and emotional support before and during deployment, on return and for the rest of their lives.

Northumberland Branch of SSAFA Forces Help can be contacted on (01665) 576756 – all enquiries from any member of Regular, TA or Reserve Services seeking help will be dealt with confidentially as will anyone considering volunteering their help towards our Service men and women, past and present, who find themselves in need of help.

MAJOR BRIAN WILLIAM FINLAYSON
Public Awareness Officer,
SSAFA Forces Help,
Northumberland.

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