‘It's in our blood': Bolton veterans celebrate Armed Forces Day 2025

Yahoo

17 hours ago

Bolton celebrated the culmination of Armed Forces Week on June 28, bringing together representatives of veteran groups, cadets, charities and members of the public to celebrate the achievements of the British military past and present.
The day began with a short service and was followed by a family fun-day, where people could find out more about the different aspects of the Armed Forces and have a go at various activities, including paintballing.
For the veterans in attendance, Armed Forces Day, which falls annually on the last Saturday of June, is one of the most important dates in the calendar.
Simon Skirving, 64, Chairman of the Bolton Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club, said: 'It's about celebrating the sacrifices made in the past and the sacrifices people are making today. That's why it's important.'
Mr Skirving joined the army in 1974 and said he would 'go back tomorrow' if he could. He was attending Bolton's Armed Forces with fellow Breakfast Club members and veterans Captain Rameshchandra Mistry, 69, who served in the 216 Battery RA Bolton and Macbool Wahid, 56, who served as a regular with the Royal Signals for 10 years and the Reserves for 20.
Simon Skirving, Captain Rameshchandra Mistry and Macbool Wahid from the Bolton Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club on Armed Forces Day 2025. (Image: Bolton News) When the Breakfast Club started in Bolton almost two years ago, there were four regular members and now there are around 20.
Mr Skirving added: 'When you have a chance to get together, with your medals on, I feel proud. And when people come and say to you: Thank you for your service, we're all proud.'
Mr Wahid said: 'I joined it when I was 16. I don't regret it for a second. I absolutely loved it, it made me the man I am now and got me to where I am now. Without the training and discipline you can't succeed. It gives you a good grounding. It's the comradery – you can never replace that.'
Armed Forces Day is also an opportunity to teach the public about what the military does and stands for.
Veteran Ken Rathbone, 74, who was in Victoria Square with his fellow members of the Bolton Royal Naval Association, told The Bolton News that he hopes events like this will inspire a new generation of servicepeople.
Members of Bolton's Royal Naval Association, including chairman Richard Hilton (front left) and Ken Rathbone (back right). (Image: The Bolton News)
He said: 'What we would like to do is encourage the younger generation, if they're thinking of going into the armed forces. Everyone in the forces thinks they're from the best force, but we've been lucky enough when we joined the navy to have travelled the world.
'It's a golden opportunity for the younger generation to see the world, but belong to an organisation that will pay for them, look after their health and give them the comradeship that we still have from 50 years ago.
'Once navy, always navy.'
Vicky Plimley, 41, is a reservist from the 103 Regiment at 206 Battery, based on Nelson Street. After a 22-year career as a kitchen designer, Ms Plimley decided to ditch her office job for something more 'exciting and worthwhile'.
'I didn't know anything about the army at all before I went in. I didn't know what an L118 Light Gun looked like,' she said, pointing at the weapon on display next to her. 'I turned up for Tuesday night drill session, went through basic training and the rest is history.'
Reservist Vicky Plimley next to a L118 Light Gun. (Image: The Bolton News)
Since joining the reserves five years ago, Ms Plimley has been to Kenya, Austria, trekking in Nepal, gained some mountaineering qualifications and is currently preparing for a six-month stint in Cyprus. She quit her 'civvy' job last year to focus on her military career.
She said: 'It's the best thing that I have ever done. It's hard work, but it's so enjoyable. You meet great people, you visit places that you never would before, but take that first step, be brave, go and speak to somebody, ask questions, see what it's about.'
Another community represented in force at Armed Forces Day was Bolton's various cadet groups. At one point, a large group of them gathered together on Victoria Square for a penalty shootout.
Sergeant Armstrong, 61, was manning a stall with members of his army cadet group. Here, teenagers learn invaluable skills, such as problem solving, communication, mountaineering, to name but a few.
Sergeant Armstrong manning the army cadet stall at Bolton's Armed Forces Day celebrations. (Image: The Bolton News) When asked about why Armed Forces Day is so important today, he said: 'I think it's great to give people an understanding. We're not teaching cadets to go off into the army, we're purely giving them the skills, but the more that people see of the Armed Forces, the better it is, for people to realise that we gave a lot for everyone else. Especially in today's climate.'
For veteran Ryan Yates, Armed Forces Day is a way of raising awareness. In 2021, the 37-year-old founded Veteran's Army, a Bolton-based non-profit organisation that supports ex-servicepeople and their families. What started as an online platform on social media has grown to offer a 'plethora of services' nationally.
He said: 'The reason that Armed Forces Day is important is because the nation as whole needs to accept the sacrifices made by veterans and the family members of veterans. There should be support in that, but unfortunately, in this day and age no one really cares.
'With my PTSD, when I looked for aid, I didn't know where to go, what was good, what wasn't good, a lot of people were saying that what they were doing was the best thing to be done. We've made it a lot easier, much more streamlined in our own services.'
Ryan Yates (left), founder of Veteran's Army (Image: The Bolton News) He added: 'For too long we've gone with not recruiting, not supporting veterans, not supporting people that want to join the military, not advertising it in the right way and not seeing it as a career path.
'A career in the military is by far the best thing I ever did. I joined at 16, I did ten years, and I don't regret a single thing. There's not many veterans that would say they regret it.'
This sentiment was a common theme among all the former servicepeople we spoke to, most of whom were out in Bolton to celebrate the comradery that the army has given them.
As Richard Hilton, 71, chairman of Bolton Royal Naval Association, put it: 'It says it quite clearly on our poster: unity, patriotism, comradeship and loyalty. That's what we are all about, we've done the job, we know the job, and now we've finished the job, we're still get together
'It's in our blood. That's why we do it – and we have a good laugh along the way.'