We are delighted to award a £13,800 grant to The Heritage Crafts Association to fund heritage crafts training for Army veterans.
Our charity funds several charities that are devoted to helping former soldiers find gainful employment following their Army service. The Heritage Crafts Association was founded in 2009 and is the national charity for traditional heritage crafts, protecting endangered crafts such as clockmaking, coachbuilding, iron founding, marbling and wheelwrighting; and promoting public knowledge and research.
Our donation will be used to fund training bursaries of up to £4,000 each for three Army veterans. One Army veteran has restored the gun carriage that bore the coffin of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and was recently successfully nominated for an MBE.
Jay Blades MBE, Co-Chair of The Heritage Crafts Association, said:
“If we are going to keep traditional craft skills alive we are going to have to reach people from all backgrounds, to show them there are opportunities out there they might not have thought possible. Linking up with former services personnel with a wealth of life experience behind them makes perfect sense, so we are delighted to be working with ABF The Soldiers’ Charity to provide these bursaries.”
Brigadier (Ret’d) Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, added:
“Supporting former soldiers to explore new and rewarding civilian careers is a priority area for our charity. In making our donation, we were impressed with how The Heritage Crafts Association helps people with such diverse career backgrounds, including the Armed Forces, to train for such a highly skilled and specialist industry.”
Read more about The Heritage Crafts Association here.