Ex-Para guest of honour at hospital's tribute day
Jeffrey Long MBE has raised thousands for various charities
- Published
Patients who are military veterans or still serving have been invited to a celebration at a Bradford hospital ahead of Armed Forces Day on 29 June.
The event at Bradford Royal Infirmary on Friday is part of the the lead-up to the day which falls on the last Saturday in June every year.
Armed Forces Day, known originally as Veterans' Day, was first held on Saturday, 27 June 2006, and acknowledges the contribution of the country's Armed Forces.
Fundraiser and ex-paratrooper Jeffrey Long MBE, 92, from Bingley, will be the hospital's guest of honour.
Fiona Mattison served with the RAF before joining Bradford Teaching Hospitals
Fiona Mattison is Bradford Teaching Hospitals' Armed Forces champion.
She served as a senior aircraftwoman in the Royal Air Force from 1986 to 2000 and did tours of duty in Cyprus and Germany.
“The event is an opportunity to show support for and celebrate the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community, from currently serving personnel to Service families, veterans and cadets," she said.
“We know that across our family of hospitals, we have a number of patients who are veterans and serving members of the Armed Forces and we would love for them and their families to join hospital staff at this gathering.
“Showing support for the Armed Forces provides a much-valued morale boost for serving personnel, veterans and their families.”
Mr Long, who served with the 12th (Yorkshire) Parachute Battalion, has been fundraising since 2007, completing dozens of charity hikes and raising more than £300,000.
Last year he walked 101 laps of Bradford’s Centenary Square, the equivalent of 25 miles, in support of Bradford Hospitals Charity, raising more than £1,300.
In early 2006 then then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced plans for the first Veterans' Day, which was renamed Armed Forces Day in 2009.
The date was chosen as it came the day after the anniversary of the first investiture of the Victoria Cross in Hyde Park, London, in 1857.