Cyprus Service of Celebration

SSAFA 125 SERVICE OF CELEBRATION Friday 24^th September saw a unique event in the BFC Events Calendar as SSAFA Forces Help hosted a Service of Celebration for the charity’s 125^th anniversary. What started off as a seemingly simple idea from Rory O’Connor, SSAFA’s General

Manager in Cyprus, for a small service to be held in All Saints’ Church, Episkopi ended

up being a Service of Thanksgiving followed by a reception for 500 guests, VIPS &

dignitaries in Happy Valley. Even the SSAFA Standard that had been used earlier in the

year at Westminster Abbey was flown out for the event and was carried by the Branch

Publicity Officer, Mr Drew Elgeti.

The event was set up to recognize the charity’s volunteers, pay tribute to their hard work

& dedication and also to honour the life of an officer who died on active duty five years

ago. Major Matthew Bacon was killed whilst serving in Iraq in 2005 when a roadside bomb hit the vehicle he was travelling

in. After Matthew’s death, his father, Roger Bacon, set up the SSAFA Support Group for Bereaved Families. This

tri-service group, supported by SSAFA offers people the opportunity to meet and talk with others who have lost a

loved one who was serving in the Armed Forces. The group provides mutual support, information and advice and

tries to resolve some of the difficulties faced after the death of a family member, no matter how many years have

passed. During the service, and following a very moving testimony by Roger Bacon, Commander British Forces, Maj Gen

Gordon, presented Matthew’s parents the Elizabeth Cross in his honour. The remainder of the service saw musical interludes from the students choir of St John’s School & singers from the

Episkopi Christian Fellowship Church choir. Sgt Kavannagh, AB Edgar & FSgt Dove, representing the Army, Navy &

RAF respectively and Lt Col (Retd) Andrew Noyes (Chairman SSAFA Branch, Cyprus), Mrs Jan Dowlen-Gilliland,

Rory O’Connor and Episkopi Station Commander Lt Col Bob Pickford gave thanks through prayer and a reading was

given by Comdodore (Retd) Paul Branscombe; General Sir Kevin O’Donoghue attended the service in his capacity

as the new Chairman of SSAFA.

The event also served as a reminder of SSAFA’s importance outside of the UK – of the help it gives the personnel

from battalions that are currently deployed and to families that have lost someone during operations. Forces

personnel and their families paid tribute to those who work for SSAFA and reflected on those who still need the

charities help. The SSAFA volunteers in Cyprus are key to the organisation’s success on island and are proud to

state that, with the exception of a few notable donations, all moniey raised in Cyprus stays in Cyprus to help the

serving and veteran communities across the island. SSAFA Forces Help would like to thank all those people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the event

was a great success.