Burnley FC puts Armed Forces veterans front and centre of its work in the community
A Premier League club has been praised by veterans for the work it does supporting those who served in the Armed Forces.
Burnley FC, through its charity Burnley FC in the Community, has worked with almost 500 ex-servicemen and women since it launched its veterans initiative eight years ago.
Those behind the project are now calling on other football club charities to do more for their own veteran communities.
Andy Cook, a former staff sergeant in the Royal Transport Corps – now the Royal Logistic Corps – told BFBS Forces News that the outreach the club does for people like him improves wellbeing.
"I spent just over 22 years in the military," Andy said. "What it does do for veterans is inclusivity, because there's no restriction on age, sex or gender.
"But it's also about togetherness; being able to talk to each other and being able to share experiences."
Andy, who recently underwent a major operation on his hips, said the veterans project had even ensured he was able to travel to and from away games.
The project is led by former Royal Engineer David "Billy" Benson, who left the Army after a full career as a warrant officer.
He said the work the project does is really helping ex-soldiers like him. He added that first-team players even take time out of their busy training programmes to spend time with the veterans.
"The club has bought into it. They support us as much as they can and the charity side does a lot for the veterans in this area too," he explained.
Like many football clubs, Burnley FC sent players to fight in the trenches during the First World War. In fact, because so many footballers wanted to serve, a dedicated Footballers' Battalion was formed in 1914, made up of players from clubs across the English league.
Those contributions are remembered just a stone's throw from Turf Moor, the home of Burnley FC, with a war memorial dedicated to six of the club's own players who made the ultimate sacrifice.
It's links like this that underpin the club's commitment to veterans, according to Michael Colquhoun, the deputy chief executive of Burnley FC in the Community.
"We know that the forces are made up of a lot of people from Burnley," said Michael.
"My brother was in 7 RHA [Royal Horse Artillery] and when I joined Burnley he said that he always knows someone from the town, people who served in his regiment – there was always someone from Burnley in it.
"So for a small town to be that represented in the military says a lot."
Burnley FC's veterans project sees the club's charity putting on wellbeing events on most days of the week.
At one of its coffee afternoon events, another veteran, Andy Holder, who also served in the Royal Engineers, said he had been involved with the initiative for eight years.
"I have severe arthritis, so it gets me out. I used to lock myself away," he said.
"We have a laugh. Sometimes we'll go out and have a few pints. Or if the local regiment is visiting town, which it did last year, we stand outside Turf Moor to show our respect to the guys and girls who are marching."
As well as organising and running its own events – which include a weekly outdoors club in Pendle Hill – Burnley FC in the Community signposts veterans to other services when required, and accepts referrals from organisations, including the NHS.
It's a real flag-bearer for the kind of outreach work major institutions, like English football clubs, can deliver for former members of the Armed Forces in their local communities.
For more information on Burnley FC in the Community's veterans project, click here.
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