Information about the Norfolk Armed Forces Community Covenant, events and support organisations
West Norfolk has a proud history and relationship with the Armed Forces. From the RAF base at Marham there are a significant number of serving regular and reserve personnel, veterans and their families based across our County.
There are also a number of war memorials throughout the borough that recognise the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces. We are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of two of these (King's Lynn and Gaywood memorials).
The Borough Council is proud to have held a Corporate Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award since 2014, in recognition of our ongoing commitment to the Armed Forces community.
Community Covenant
The Armed Forces Covenant is a voluntary pledge made by those who sign it to ensure that people serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly and with the respect they deserve in the community where they live, with no disadvantage due to Service life.
In March 2013, local community members, including members of the armed forces, signed the Norfolk Armed Forces Community Covenant. In September 2024 we demonstrated continued commitment be re-signing the Armed Forces Covenant, alongside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the College of West Anglia.
A wide range of organisations sign the pledge, including:
- Local authorities
- The single Services (Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force)
- Businesses of all sizes
- The NHS
- Schools
- Charities
The Council encourages organisations of all types to sign the pledge to show your support and encourage fair treatment for armed forces personnel, their families, volunteers and cadets. It’s free, and we can support you.
Please send your completed pledge, questions or issues to jack.eddy@west-norfolk.gov.uk.
Guidance can be found on the Armed Forces Covenant: guidance and support page on the GOV.UK website.
The Covenant Duty
A legal obligation placed upon certain public bodies such as local authorities when carrying out functions related to healthcare, education and housing to have consideration of the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant.
Its two principles, in recognizing the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces, are that:
- Those who serve in the Armed Forces, or have served in the past, and their families, shall face no disadvantages in comparison to others in receiving public and commercial services.
- Special provision for Service people may be warranted based upon the effects of services on such members, i.e. members who have been injured or bereaved because of current of past services we may wish to provide more for.
What We Do
The council is committed to ensuring that armed forces members, past and present, and their families, will not be disadvantaged in comparison to other citizens and will receive adequate support from a variety of council services.
Human Resources
We have recently agreed a new Reserve Forces Training & Mobilisation Policy, which includes:
- Reservists will not be disadvantaged as a result of notifying the Council of their reserve status
- 10 days of additional paid leave for reservists to attend training
- After care and support requirements for reservists post-mobilisation, including additional training and reasonable time off to seek therapeutic treatment as needed
The policy will be published here shortly.
As part of our commitment to raise internal awareness of the Covenant and the ways we support reservists, we have implemented a series of council-wide armed forces e-learning modules, with specialized training for staff in customer facing positions, alongside health and housing.
Supporting Armed Forces community members into employment
As part of our AFC silver award, we ensure that armed forces community members are not unfairly disadvantaged in the recruitment and selection process.
We currently employ a number of armed forces community members, or those with a relation, and have signed up to the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and Forces Families Jobs (FFJ) where we will advertise job vacancies, offering community members more opportunities for employment at the council.
The CTP is a resettlement service aiding Service leaders in transitioning from their military career into their civilian career, education or retirement. It offers a variety of free employment related support, such as personal advice, training and job matching.
FFJ is a careers platform for family members of those currently serving, providing employment advice, employability programmes, upskilling and training, and connections to employers who have signed the Covenant.
We also offer a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Veterans.
Help and support
Fundraising
King’s Lynn’s previous Mayor, Cllr. Paul Bland, named the King’s Lynn Sea Cadets as one of his charities, and throughout his term raised £5000 for the unit.
This year’s Mayor, Cllr. Andy Bullen, as the Honorary President of the 42F King’s Lynn Air Cadet Squadron has nominated the Squadron as one of his supported charities, alongside the Swan Youth Project. A number of fundraising events with the Mayor’s chosen charities are to come.
Armed Forces Network
Our Internal Armed Forces Network was formed June 2025. It is comprised of Armed Forces community members or those with a service connection, and identifies the ways in which we, as a Council, can better support the Armed Forces Community and promote armed forces related events.
Support organisations and charities
There are a number of Norfolk based organisations that support the armed forces, including:
- Bridge for Heroes
- Scotty’s Little Soldiers
- The Matthew Project – Outside the Wire
- Veterans at Ease – Norfolk
For local, West Norfolk activities including veterans centred support groups, visit the Lily website.
If you are in need of housing advice as a veteran, please visit our Housing advice for ex-forces members page.
National organisations:
- The Royal British Legion
- SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Families Association) Forces Help
- Blind Veterans UK
- Veterans at Ease
Local events
Throughout the borough, we hold a series of annual events to show respect for the role of the Armed Forces community. Our cadets are invited to all such events.
In June we hold Armed Forces Week, inviting armed forces members to a ceremony raising the British Armed Forces Day flag in tribute to serving members, and those who have served, as well as service families, veterans, reservists and adult cadet volunteers.
Other events include:
- August - King’s Lynn & District Branch RAFA VJ Day Service
- September - King’s Lynn & District Branch RAFA Battle of Britain Service
- November - Remembrance Sunday Parade and Service, including a procession from Tower Gardens to King’s Lynn minster
