Dinner to raise funds for forces charity

HUNDREDS of forces families will benefit from a fundraising dinner in North Yorkshire to mark the 125th anniversary of the country’s oldest welfare charity for servicemen and women and their loved ones.

SSAFA-Forces Help, which provides a one-to-one service for military families, has 70 case workers for North Yorkshire alone who are dealing with at least 500 cases per year.

In a bid to raise up to 5,000 the charity is hosting a 50-per-head black tie dinner to celebrate SSAFA’s 125th anniversary at Rudding Park, Harrogate, on Friday, April 30.

The guest speaker will be Christopher Ussher, land agent at Harewood House.

A Sandhurst graduate, Mr Ussher served in the 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles from 1974 to 1983 and is an expert on combat survival and jungle warfare.

The event will also feature an auction of promises including a day on the set of Emmerdale at Harewood, and a day with the infantry for six people in Warminster, Wiltshire.

SSAFA often works in conjunction with other charities such as the Royal British Legion.