Army veterans and volunteers who support retired servicemen were treated to a tea party by one of Swindon’s largest companies last week, raising awareness of the difficulties faced by serving and former military men.

The event, hosted by Nationwide at the Nationwide House Pavilion, was held in honour of SSAFA (formerly the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). SSAFA train and support case workers, who provide welfare for those serving in the armed forces, as well as veterans and armed forces families.

“In the county, there are about 50 volunteer case workers,” said Lt Col Bill Common. “Case workers are trained but they are not paid. They’ve got to be prepared to engage with people, give their time.”

While acknowledging what other charities, notably Help for Heroes, have done in raising the profile of the armed forces, Lt Col Common highlighted the unique role SSAFA plays: “We direct the money to the right place. Without SSAFA, nothing happens – they need SSAFA to assess situations.”

Among the attendees was Brian Corrigan, an 88-year old former soldier, who joined the army in 1946 and served for 34 years. In his retirement, he was a retired officer before joining the Chelsea Pensioners. He became a SSAFA case worker in 2000.

He said: “It’s an amazing organisation. They don’t have money but they have lots of contacts. I retired when I was 81, and said I would keep on the cases I had which weren’t closed.”

Stephen Uden, the Head of Social Investment at Nationwide, highlighted other ways in which the company supports armed forces, including flexible mortgages which aid servicemen when they are posted to new locations. “Often doing things like that is the kind of things that other companies struggle to do,” he said.

“We’ve been doing this event about three years. With more of the forces moving into the southern part of the county, we think there are a lot of people who aren’t really aware of what they do.”