Saturday saw one of our busiest and most significant days in our Team Forces event programme, bringing together defence sponsors, military hosts and beneficiaries for what is arguably one of the most popular fixtures in the military sporting calendar – the Army v Navy match at Twickenham.
With Air Vice-Marshal Cab Townsend hosting, the day was defined by a strong sense of camaraderie and connection. The national anthem rang out across a packed stadium, and in Lock 5 our suite of 450 guests was alive with energy and conversation, with relationships being strengthened throughout the day.
We were pleased to be joined by a number of our inspiring Team Forces beneficiaries, including Corie Mapp, the para bobsleigh champion; Sally Orange, a mental health campaigner and adventurer who completed the London Marathon just a week ago whilst undergoing cancer treatment; and Hari Budha Magar, the first double above-knee amputee to summit Mount Everest and to complete the “Seven Summits”. We were also joined by Major Henry Wootton, who is preparing to take on the Golden Globe Race, a non-stop single-handed, round-the-world yacht race.
Members of Force Atlantic shared a few words about their forthcoming Atlantic rowing challenge, and fellow beneficiary Darren Edwards spoke about his recent Antarctic expedition. A former Army Reservist and adaptive adventurer, Darren was paralysed from the chest down following a near-fatal climbing accident, and has since built a reputation as one of the world’s leading para-explorers redefining life after spinal cord injury. He reflected candidly on the difficult decision to abandon the expedition, and how he has since reframed that experience — from what felt like failure at the time into one of the most valuable and defining expeditions of his life.
On the pitch, the rugby more than matched the atmosphere off it, with a closely contested game that saw the Navy edge a narrow victory; winning back-to-back for the first time in 52 years after beating the British Army 36-41.
Coming so soon after our recent gathering at Lord’s Cricket Ground for the Inter-Services T20, it has been an intense but rewarding period of engagement for Team Forces.
Next up, we look forward to an employee engagement clay shoot in Nottingham, kindly sponsored by Heckler & Koch, before a busy July which includes Henley Royal Regatta, the Rundle Cup and Goodwood Festival of Speed, alongside another employee engagement event on the water with the Gwenelli Trust.
Further details on these will follow shortly — and thank you, as ever, for your continued support.
