Families of The Fallen is a new charity set up to concentrate on delivering much needed extra financial help to the families of British servicemen and women killed in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. That need has been identified and confirmed by key supporters in the military.

We believe that the duty of care to the families of those who give their lives in the service of our country lies not just with government but with all of us as individuals – and this applies whether you believe in the war being fought or not.

While there are a number of other charities carrying out good work in this area, Families Of The Fallen is the only charity focused exclusively on providing funds for the families of those killed in the field of action in recent and current conflicts.

To keep administration costs to an absolute minimum, we are entrusting the actual distribution of the money we raise to existing charities – with a strong emphasis on the individual regimental charities that are particularly close to each family’s needs, and who are supporting us in this mission to raise extra funds. We are also working closely with other charities across all three services, including The Soldiers’ Charity and the Royal British Legion.

We all agree that the money currently available is nowhere near enough to address properly all the needs, which can vary greatly from family to family. We want to make sure those families are really comfortably housed when they have to leave military accommodation – and to fund any extra help needed for the education of their children.

We hope you will want to make a donation through our website, but we will also have a particular focus on raising money through concerts and other special events.

Families of The Fallen will place special emphasis on the really fast distribution of money to families who have just been bereaved, making sure that their time of deepest grief is not compounded by financial worries.

Background

The idea for Families Of The Fallen came from Sir David Nicholas, former Editor-in-Chief and Chairman of ITN. He involved the former newscaster Martyn Lewis, who in turn brought on board the City Philanthropist Sir John Beckwith and his business partner Simon Halden. Others closely involved in the creation of this charity include Lord Guthrie, former Chief of the Defence Staff, Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, Chief Executive of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity (formerly the Army Benevolent Fund), Colonel Tom Bonas of the Welsh Guards, West End Theatre Producer David Lightbody, the Chief Executive of SSVC (British Forces Broadcasting) Nick Pollard, Nick Levitt, Global Event Director for Live Earth, Roger Martin, a former Senior Partner of the accountancy firm PWC, and Trevor Pears of The Pears Foundation.

Ongoing pro bono support has come from the lawyers Mishcon de Reya, the accountancy firm H.W. Fisher, the design agency AKA and Bell Pottinger Public Relations.

From the above have been drawn a small board of Trustees : Sir David Nicholas, Simon Halden, Martyn Lewis (Chairman), Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, David Lightbody and Col Tom Bonas, Roger Martin.

Memorandum and Articles

“The objects are to assist the families, relatives, partners or other dependents of those who are currently serving or who have served in the British Armed Forces, by advancing any lawful charitable purpose at the discretion of directors and in particular, but not exclusively:

the relief of financial hardship of the families, relatives, partners or other dependents of men and women of the British Armed Forces killed in Afghanistan and other conflicts through the provision of grants, goods or services; and

the relief of financial hardship of the families, relatives, partners or other dependents of men and women of the British Armed Forces through the provision of grants to other charities who assist members of the British Armed Forces and their dependents.”