VETERANS AFFAIRS
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Duty, Courage and Chance: The Remarkable Life of D-Day Veteran Bill Redston
The death of Royal Navy veteran Bill Redston at the age of 101, just days before today’s 82nd anniversary of D-Day, marks the passing of a man whose life spanned some of the defining events of the modern era. It…
101 years of age today, and still going strong… that’s Henri, a brave Belgian warrior
Today’s world leaders should heed the “mistakes” of the past or face the consequences, warns Count Henri d’Oultremont, who celebrates his 101st birthday this day, May 31st. As one of only three known Belgian survivors of the famous Piron Brigade, Henri knows what…
Royal British Legion Brussels: “Come and join our ranks”
An appeal has been launched by the Royal British Legion to recruit new members for its Brussels branch. Globally, the RBL, the UK’s largest armed forces charity, has a 180,000-strong membership and Brussels has just over 100 members. It is…
Parliament security committee turns to Ukraine defence pillar and veterans support
The European Parliament’s security and defence committee has placed Ukraine’s military support and veterans policy on its 6–7 May agenda, with members examining the €60 billion defence pillar of the Ukraine Support Loan and EU assistance for Ukrainian veterans. The…
Grave Robbery in Brabant: 232 Soldiers’ Plaques Stolen in Night Raid
The theft of memory is rarely as stark, or as unsettling, as the desecration of a grave. Yet in the quiet Brabant town of Braine-l’Alleud, that is precisely what has occurred: not merely an act of petty criminality, but something…
Ypres Reveals Its Dead: Two Lost Officers of 1915 Finally Identified
The long silence of the Western Front has a way of keeping its secrets. Even now, more than a century after the guns fell quiet, the earth around Ypres still yields the dead — and, occasionally, their names. This week,…
The Troubles: the Endless Pursuit of Britain’s Northern Ireland Veterans
The long shadow of the Troubles continues to fall across British politics, but increasingly it does so in a way that raises uncomfortable questions about the state’s moral priorities. A recent High Court ruling, reported in the Daily Mail, dismissing…
Fragmented Veterans Services Across Europe: Challenges, Country Comparisons, and the Council of Europe Response
The transition from military service to civilian life is a complex journey, and across Europe, veterans face significant challenges in navigating the systems designed to support them. While some countries have developed structured programmes addressing health, social benefits, employment, and…
The Long and Lonely Shadow of Forgotten Conflicts
In the public imagination, the word “veteran” tends to conjure images of recent campaigns: dusty patrols in Afghanistan, convoys edging through Iraqi cities, or the grim televised briefings that accompanied those conflicts. Yet across Europe, Britain and the United States…
Royal British Legion poppy appeal launched in Brussels
The annual launch of the UK’s Royal British Legion poppy appeal has been marked in Brussels with a moving tribute to the war dead, coming just ahead of Remembrance Day in November in honour of Britain’s military veterans. The 2025 poppy…