Inspirational military families praised at Celebrating Forces Families Awards
The Celebrating Forces Families (CFF) Awards last night shone a light on the contributions and unwavering support provided by serving military families.
Back again for a third year, the event was held in London – with BFBS The Forces Station as a media partner – and celebrated the achievements of the UK's Armed Forces families.
The night also highlighted some notable projects families have undertaken.
A performance by a combined choir featuring Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir and the Military Wives choirs opened the evening celebrations.
They performed a brand-new song written specifically for the occasion.
Forces champion and Coronation Street actor Antony Cotton MBE co-presented the awards alongside Forces News presenter Sian Grzeszczyk.
Katie Salari, chief executive officer at Never Such Innocence, said: "When the Voices of Armed Forces Children Choir were invited to sing this year, they were so excited!
"Inspired by the event and all of the nominees last year, they thought it would be fun to write a song specifically for the awards.
"They wanted to capture how exciting the event is and recognise the important work that people do to support forces families.
"To quote the children's song: 'We are celebrating you and everything you've done. For the past year, you've shone brighter than the sun' – each person nominated has done some extraordinary work, and the choir is very happy to salute them through the song they wrote."
This year's competition had 33 finalists shortlisted from a large pool of nominees, each with an inspiring story.
The Winners
The ceremony culminated in the announcement of the winners, whose inspiring stories "exemplify the strength of our Forces families", said CFF.
Here is a list of the night's winners:
– Inspirational Family Member of the Year: Claire Lilly, whose powerful campaign –The Forcer Protocol – was inspired by her husband's tragic death. Now a nationwide strategy, the protocol ensures prompt location and support for vulnerable missing veterans, sparing countless families the anguish hers experienced. In Manchester alone, in just four months, 57 missing veterans have been located and referred.
Claire told BFBS Radio: "The recognition and the traction and the backing that it [the award] gives the protocol raises awareness in itself, it's just phenomenal, so thank you."
– Young People's Award: Jamie Small was nominated for his dedication to supporting others after the loss of his father to suicide at the age of eight. He created a film with the Army, raised more than £30,000 for charity, and shared his journey to help others struggling with loss and suicidal thoughts.
Jamie spoke about his drive, saying: "Just being able to help people, most of it's got to be my mum, if it weren't for her I wouldn't be able to do any of this stuff."
– Overcoming Adversity Award: Stephanie Quintrell, an equestrian who, despite facing a debilitating neurological condition which has left her needing to use a wheelchair, refused to give up on her passion. Stephanie returned to horseback riding 18 months after her illness and spearheaded the FWC Ride to Freedom expedition. Her story of resilience and determination inspired the nation.
Stephanie said: "I'm really honoured, and I'm really proud... just being in a room surrounded by the most incredible people doing the most incredible things, the fact that others are looking at me like that – I'm really grateful for that, it's pretty special."
– Volunteer Of The Year: Emma Passant – She volunteers for a wide range of Station activities including single-handedly arranging a Station Coronation event. Similarly setting up a charitable response to help a family following a devastating house fire, volunteering for the Youth Clubs, Station coffee mornings, BFBS Cinema and even help setting up and running the community bar and more.
– Social Media Influencer: Lauren Hyland – Lauren is a mother and RAF wife who, whilst her husband was on deployment, documented her family's journey to help others. Her main aim was to show families positive ways to get through a similar situation and give ideas on how to handle difficult times.
– Small Business Owner Of The Year: David Wood – When Drumfork Nursery and Family Centre was suddenly closed in 2020, David, a Navy veteran, and his wife Roanna stepped up to provide much-needed childcare for naval families in the Helensburgh area. The centre has a team of staff, the majority themselves service families, and is contributing to the lives of many who use or work in the facility.
– Public Service Award: NHS Highlands Team – Dental Services Over the past two years, the team have gone above and beyond to support the service families as they move into and out of the area in response to hearing the challenges others face. Through the Child Smile initiative, the team have provided outreach to families and can now quickly react to improve access to services.
– Military Family Charity: Naval Children's Charity - The charity supports children from naval families, up to age 25, helping around 4,000 children and young people each year with grants in times of crisis or with significant issues such as disability/illness, resources to support mental health and wellbeing, and opportunities to enhance and improve outcomes through the Life Chances Programme. The charity puts children front and centre, staff have first-hand experience of service life, they understand, have empathy, and change lives every day.
– Business Award: PA Consulting – Since 2016, they have supported more than 250 service leavers. A founder member of the Royal Logistic Corps Foundation and forging links with other corps and regiments, they have supported events, fundraising and a mentoring programme, plus ensuring the employees who are service spouses, have the flexibility to remain employed and supported when relocating or through periods of deployment.
– Away From Home: Sitiveni Kabulevu – Steve, Ana, Jekope, Adi, Elesi and Rocky are keystone members of the Brunssum Community. The standout family are leading figures of any community event. The collective family endeavours include: demonstrating Fijian dance at the school assembly, cooking for the Coronation Community Party and Summer BBQ. Steve was the Chairman of the AFNORTH School Christmas Fayre committee, which raised €5,000.
– Armed Forces Advocate: Chelsea Tudhope – NHS midwife Chelsea was nominated for her exceptional contributions to supporting Armed Forces families, particularly about maternal mental health. As a champion for the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, Chelsea has gone above and beyond in her efforts to address their unique challenges. Her masters' research explored Army spouses in the perinatal period to further understand the impact of mobility, separation, and isolation.
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