Woody’s Lodge welcomes VIP visitors

In January 2019, we were absolutely delighted to welcome some very special guests to Woody’s Lodge. Some of our veterans, volunteers and team came together to welcome The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP Secretary of State for Defence and The Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP Secretary of State for Wales. They wanted to discuss the great work and support that we provide here at Woody’s Lodge to Veterans, Emergency Service Leavers and their families. 

Our CEO, Dr David Trotman, said: “We were not only surprised but also delighted at welcoming Gavin Williamson, Sec. State for Defence and Alun Cairns, Sec. State for Wales to Woody’s Lodge. 

All at Woodys were pleased to hear that both Ministers were supportive of our work and understood the issues being faced by Armed Forces Veterans, Emergency Services and their families. It was a proud day for us all!”

It was an amazing opportunity to tell Gavin Williamson, Sec. State for Defence and Alun Cairns, Sec. State for Wales all about the work that we do here at Woody’s Lodge and how we are providing a safe space for armed forces veterans, reservists, emergency services and their families to socialise as well as to access a wide range of health and social services. 

We have grown so much in the last two years, it seems like such a long time ago that we were just starting out at HMS Cambria. Now we’re working in partnership with Age Cymru and Age Alliance Wales on Project 360 to improve support services for older veterans across Wales. We have two sites: Amelia Trust Farm and Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay as well as our two satellite offices in Rhyl and Wrexham, allowing us to offer veterans and Emergency Service leavers even more support across Wales. To have received such a visit from Gavin Williamson, Sec. State for Defence and Alun Cairns, Sec. State for Wales is just such an honour for us, we never would’ve thought it was possible back when we first created Woody’s Lodge!