A breakfast club, giving Herefordshire veterans, their families, serving military personnel and war widows, the opportunity to meet up regularly to form links with each other, will be launched in Hereford on Saturday, April 1st.

The Hereford Armed Forces and Veterans’ Breakfast Club was the idea of Lynne Gladwin. Lynne herself has a military background, but she was driven to do something to help veterans in the county after her elderly uncle and auntie moved from Plymouth to Herefordshire to live with her.

Lynne told the Ross Gazette that her uncle, who is 76-years-old, lives for reunions, but as so many of his former comrades have since died, and he now lives so far away, he had become lonely. “I just thought, how many others are just like him now?” Lynne commented.

This spurred Lynne on to set up the Hereford Armed Forces and Veterans’ Breakfast Club, where visitors can socialise with others, and meet once a fortnight for a chat.

She told the Ross Gazette that her idea has snowballed, and it is being supported by the Royal British Legion, SSAFA, and Herefordshire Council. Lynne added that, so far, she is expecting 30 to 40 people to attend the first breakfast club.

Lynne explained that the breakfast club not a charity, and not for profit. Attendees can simply some along to the sessions, pay for what they eat and drink, and sit and chat for as long as they like. “We meet for breakfast have a laugh, a bit of banter and offer support if it’s needed,” she said.

The first breakfast club will take place on April 1st at 9.30am in Gilbies Bar and Bistro, Hereford. Subsequent events will take place once a fortnight, on Saturday mornings. The second breakfast club will take place on April 15th, followed by the third on April 29th, and so on.

For more information about the breakfast club, please contact Lynne on 07964 011353.