A BREAKFAST club were veterans get together once a month to provide mutual support over a full English is having a revamp.
The Northwich Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club was formed in 2017 as a way for the town's former and serving military personnel to get together.
The club originally met at the Penny Black pub on Witton Street, before moving to Davenham Royal British Legion Social Club a few years ago.
Royal Navy veteran, Ray Crawford, took over responsibility for running the club two years ago, and has now decided it’s time the club had a bit of a revamp.
Having noticed a recent drop off in numbers, Ray and the members decided to scout out a new, more central venue, to remove any barriers their fellow servicemen and women might face accessing the valuable support the club offers.
The club is also changing its meeting day from Saturday and Sunday, for members who were finding Saturdays a struggle due to work commitments.
This has been scheduled to accommodate Remembrance Sunday (November 10), though after that, it will be meeting there on the second Sunday of every month, rather than the first.
Ray said: “The main purpose of the club is to provide a place for serving armed forces personnel and veterans to swap stories - which we call dits – and to make sure everyone is getting on okay.
“We help each other if we can, and signpost people on to the appropriate services and organisations, for things like mental health concerns.
“We currently have 154 social members listed, but we have a core of about 15 who tend to come to all the meetings.
“We all love our breakfasts, whether it be a full English, a bacon butty, or just tea and coffee.”
Temple Bar’s manager, Charlotte Mills, is from a military family herself, and was ‘delighted to accommodate us’, according to Ray.
Ray added: “There are similar clubs in Winsford, Middlewich, and Sandbach, and some of us attend each other’s meetings. There are clubs like us all over all over the country now.
“We’re not a charity, and have no charity status, but we do our best to support one another when we can.”
Fore more information about club, visit their Facebook page, or email Ray northwichafvbc2023@gmail.com.
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