The Veterans Making Children's Toys And More

Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company is two factories in Kent and Surrey employing injured ex-servicemen.

It’s the UK’s leading Social Enterprise employing veterans, and it’s a commercial success.

A division of Royal British Legion Industries, the workshops produce wooden pallets, children's toys and signs for Britain’s road and rail network.

Recently it secured a multi-million-pound contract to become the sole provider of signs for Network Rail.

Former Gurkha rifleman Turthra Tapa makes signs for Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company.

He lost a leg when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan 7 years ago.

He’s one of 16 injured veterans in this department producing some 40,000 signs a year.

The company as a whole employs 120 people - more than 70 percent of whom are ex –service.

Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, or BBMC, was formed as a division of Royal British Legion Industries in 1919.

The veterans here have a physical or mental injury such as amputation or PTSD, which has forced them to look for work outside the services.

Anil Gurung lost part of his right leg in Afghanistan when he stepped on a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

He overcame his injury by becoming an athlete, competing in the Invictus Games twice as part of the award-winning sitting volleyball team.

Now he’s training to climb to Everest Base Camp. But he credits working for BBMC for giving him a new purpose.

As well as helping veterans transit into civilian employment, BBMC is a financial success.

They recently amassed a £5m turnover in a single year.

But any profit is ploughed back into the company, to provide employment and opportunity for veterans like these.