Veterans Breakfast Club in Chapeltown

Chapeltown Veterans Breakfast Club is the latest in the National Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club network, with clubs forming all across the UK.

These clubs are intended to provide somewhere for former members of the Armed Services to meet up, tell stories and offer support.

Tracy Menday, founder of the new Chapeltown Veterans Breakfast Club - and a Gulf War 1 Veteran who served in the operating theatre of 32 Field Hospital, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps - said: “There is a real need for these clubs, not only as a social environment but as a support mechanism.

“Our aim is for Chapeltown Veterans Breakfast Club to support veterans in the community, especially those of an older generation and for those who have experienced conflict. From my experience with other clubs, veterans can openly talk to other veterans, this simple line of communication is so beneficial to our wellbeing. Some veterans indeed still find it extremely difficult to talk about their experiences with friends or family members even after decades.”

The opening of the new club at the weekend, at the Wagon and Horses Weatherspoon in Chapeltown, was attended by MP Angela Smith and her husband Steve, who is himself a Falklands war veteran.

The Chapeltown Veterans Breakfast Club is open to all serving and former members of the armed services from communities in Sheffield including Chapeltown, Ecclesfield, Stocksbridge and Penistone regardless of service, rank or when served.

The club meets every Saturday at 9.30am.