Unsung heroes: Glittering awards ceremony recognises contribution and successes of Armed Forces families
The Armed Forces community has been celebrating military families at an awards ceremony designed to shine a spotlight on their unwavering hard work, drive and determination.
In its second year, the Celebrating Forces Families Awards recognised 36 outstanding finalists, the youngest of which were aged 10, who have given so much to the UK's Armed Forces community.
One of the youngest winners, Molly Williams, 10, modestly said she did not understand why she had won, saying: "I don't quite believe it, because I am only 10 and I don't see myself as inspirational."
The ceremony, held at the Victory Services Club in London, was headline-sponsored by Barclays and attended by families, friends, all event sponsors and the Ministry of Defence.
This included military leads who joined the evening to show their appreciation to the UK's military families.
Antony Cotton, SSAFA ambassador and actor known for his role as Sean Tully in Coronation Street, presented the awards alongside media partner BFBS Forces News reporter Sian Grzeszczyk.
Watch: The Celebrating Forces Families Awards event was streamed live thanks to media partner BFBS.
Between them, they brought the awards to life by sharing the inspiring stories of each and every finalist.
Antony also broke from the traditional stage announcements this year, taking to the floor and talking to finalists – especially those in the Inspirational Family Member of the Year and Young People's award categories.
Speaking with BFBS the Forces Station broadcaster Tim Humphries, Antony said: "The way I see it is whatever I can do, I feel it's my duty to serve personnel.
"For me, it's about honouring the unsung heroes of our military community and it's a magnificent thing to do."
Inspirational Family Member of the Year Award winner Molly Williams, who lives with Type One Spinal Muscular Atrophy, joined her RAF veteran father Julian as he ran and walked 100 miles in 24 hours in May last year to raise funds for charity the RAF Association (RAFA).
Molly joined using her Duet Tandem Wheelchair bicycle with the help of her mum, sister and brother.
Molly said: "I just wanted to give something back to the RAF Association after they were so kind to buy me my perfect bed that helps me sit up when I need to.
"I wanted to help make other people happy, the way the RAFA has made me happy."
Lisa Billing, winner of the Overcoming Adversity Award, has worked tirelessly to preserve the memory of her son, Private Daniel Wade and other soldiers who died in Afghanistan.
Pte Wade was one of six soldiers who were killed on 6 March 2012 in the Lashkar Gah Durai region of an operational area on the border of Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
They were on patrol to dominate the area and maintain freedom of movement when their Warrior armoured fighting vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device resulting in the deaths of all six personnel.
Over the past decade, Pte Wade's mother has spearheaded the renovation of a community garden near Warrington Cenotaph, transforming it into a beautiful space that honours our fallen heroes.
Her partnership with Warrington Borough Council has secured funding for this outstanding project.
Ms Billing said: "I'm lost for words, to be honest.
"Everyone here this evening has done so much that I was so surprised that I won this award.
"It means the world to me to have been able to do something to keep our soldiers' memories alive through this memorial – thank you."
The Celebrating Forces Families Awards began with a drinks reception filled with guests and an atmosphere of excitement and expectation, followed by a three-course meal in the venue's Carisbrooke Hall.
After the meal, the audience were entertained by a trio of songs sung by the Voice of Armed Forces Children Choir to mark the start of the awards' announcements.
Katie Salari, the Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir spokesperson and CEO of Never Such Innocence, a charity that gives children and young people a voice on conflict through poetry, art, speech and songwriting, reflected on Friday evening's experience, saying: "It was a privilege for the Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir to perform at the Celebrating Forces Families Awards, especially as it was held in April, the Month of the Military Child.
"It is vital that service children have the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about being a member of the greater Armed Forces family.
"The choir loved seeing audience members singing along to Welcome Home and Stand Up and it was a special honour to recognise the Queen with their song, The Most Famous Lady, which they wrote after her passing.
"The Queen was the head of the Armed Forces and they wanted to remember her through that song.
"It was a wonderful night recognising so many amazing people who have done so much for the military community this past year and we were honoured to perform for them."
Who won a Celebrating Forces Families award?
Inspirational Family Member of the Year
Molly Williams
Away From Home
Rhoda Kirkpatrick
Young People's Award
Gregor Allan
Family Volunteer of the Year
Sharon Deans
Overcoming Adversity
Lisa Billing
Military Family Charity
The Ripple Pond
Social Media Influencer
Marama Alliance UK
Armed Forces Advocate
Leanne Cobham
Small Business Owner
Jodie Woods, Baby Sensory & Toddler Sense
Exemplar Forces Family Friendly Employer
Amazon UK
Sarah Walker, the Event Team chair, said: "For our second year running, we have been able to run the CFF Awards through sponsorship and I must thank all our sponsors for enabling this year's event to happen.
"A special mention must also go to the event team – a team of 15 military organisations who are part of the MOD-supported 'Partner Employment Working Group'.
"They worked collaboratively to organise the event on top of their day jobs as volunteers; most are also military family members themselves.
"I would also like to thank the comprehensive mix of judges who had the unenviable job of selecting the winners of each inspiring category – I know that wasn't an easy task.
"Finally, to all other forces family contributors who provided support and services to the CFF Awards at a reduced or nil fee to help keep this event cost neutral."
Headline sponsors Barclays were joined by other companies to sponsor each individual award presented – Amazon, CTP partnering with Right Management, HSBC, M&S, Centrica, Amey, Mott MacDonald, Supporting the Unsung Hero & X-Forces Enterprise and the Forces Employment Charity.
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