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Military Covenant
The Military Covenant or Armed Forces Covenant is a term introduced in 2000 into British public life to refer to the mutual obligations between the United Kingdom and His Majesty's Armed Forces. According to ''The Guardian'', "it is an informal understanding, rather than a legally enforceable deal, but it is nevertheless treated with great seriousness within the services". It was coined in , and has now entered political discourse as a way of measuring whether the government and society at large have kept to their obligations to support members of the armed forces. The Covenant is a term used mainly by the British Army, other British armed forces and the media in relation to the question of adequate safeguards, rewards and compensation for military personnel who risk their lives in obedience to military orders derived from the policy of the elected civilian government. It is argued that armed forces personnel should expect to be treated fairly by the Crown and expect the support of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in need. Membership Service in the armed forces is no longer a requirement of Legion membership. The Legion has an official membership magazine, ''Legion'', which is free to all Legion members as part of their annual subscription. History The British Legion was founded in 1921 as a voice for the ex-service community as a bringing together of four organisations: the Comrades of the Great War, the National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers and the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers, and incorporated the fundraising department of the Officers' Association. Field Marshal The 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928), British commander at the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele, was one of the founde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simon Weston
Simon Weston (born 8 August 1961) is a Welsh veteran of the British Army who is known for his charity work and recovery from severe burn injuries suffered during the Falklands War. Early life Weston was born at Caerphilly District Miners Hospital in Caerphilly. He was brought up by his mother, Pauline and adoptive father, "Lofty". His biological father served in the Royal Air Force alongside his mother. Simon lived in Singapore and at RAF Hospital Nocton Hall in Lincolnshire before returning to Nelson at the age of around six or seven. He has one elder sister, Helen, and three stepbrothers. At the age of 14, Weston was given a police caution when he was caught as a passenger in a car stolen by his older friends. He joined the Welsh Guards in 1978 at the age of 16 at the insistence of his mother, after he "got into bother". He served in Berlin, Northern Ireland and Kenya before being deployed to the Falkland Islands. Falklands War On 8 June 1982, Weston was embarked with othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Forsyth
Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', '' The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', ''The Devil's Alternative'', '' The Fist of God'', ''Icon'', '' The Veteran'', '' Avenger'', ''The Afghan'', '' The Cobra'' and '' The Kill List''. Forsyth's works frequently appear on best-sellers lists and more than a dozen of his titles have been adapted to film. By 2006, he had sold more than 70 million books in more than 30 languages. Early life The son of a furrier, Forsyth was born in Ashford, Kent. He was educated at Tonbridge School and later attended the University of Granada in Spain. Career Military and journalism Before becoming a journalist, Forsyth completed his National Service in the Royal Air Force as a pilot, for which he flew the de Havilland Vampire. He joined Reuters in 1961 and in 1965 the BBC, for which he served as an assist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Murrison
Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, naval officer and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Wiltshire, previously Westbury, since the 2001 general election. He has been serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families since October 2022. Murrison has held a variety of positions within the British government, including Minister for International Security Strategy, and Minister of State for Northern Ireland. Most recently he served as the Minister of State for International Development and the Middle East. In Parliament, he chaired the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee from July 2017 to May 2019. Early life The son of William Gordon Murrison RD and Marion Murrison, Murrison was born in Colchester and grew up in Harwich, Essex, where he attended the local Harwich High School (now Harwich and Dovercourt High School), and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Gorkhas and are recruited for the Nepali Army (96000), Indian Army (42000), British Army (4010), Gurkha Contingent Singapore, Gurkha Reserve Unit Brunei, UN peacekeeping forces and in war zones around the world. Gurkhas are closely associated with the ''khukuri'', a forward-curving knife, and have a reputation for military prowess. Former Indian Army Chief of Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once stated that: "If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he is a Gurkha." Origins Historically, the terms "Gurkha" and "Gorkhali" were synonymous with "Nepali", which originates from the hill principality Gorkha Kingdom, from which the Kingdom of Nepal expanded under Prithvi Narayan Shah. The name may be traced to the medieval Hindu warrior-sai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Lords scrutinises Bill (law), bills that have been approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends bills from the Commons. While it is unable to prevent bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the more powerful House of Commons that is independent of the electoral process. While members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, high-ranking officials such as cabinet ministers are usually drawn from the Commons. The House of Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the "NHS" name ( NHS England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales). Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland was created separately and is often locally referred to as "the NHS". The four systems were established in 1948 as part of major social reforms following the Second World War. The founding principles were that services should be comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery—a health service based on clinical need, not ability to pay. Each service provides a comprehensive range of health services, free at the point of use for people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom apart from dental treatment and optical care. In England, NHS patients have to pay prescription charges; some, such as those aged over 60 and certain state ben ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Johnson
Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2011. A member of the Labour Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle from 1997 to 2017. Johnson served in the Cabinet during both the Tony Blair government and that of Gordon Brown. He served under Blair as Minister of State for Universities from 2003 to 2004, as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2004 to 2005, and as President of the Board of Trade from 2005 to 2006. Early life Born in London on 17 May 1950, the son of Stephen and Lillian Johnson, he was orphaned at the age of 13 when his mother died, his father having previously abandoned the family. Following this, in 1964 Johnson and his elder sister Linda moved to a council flat in Pitt Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretary Of State For Health
The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The position can trace its roots back to the nineteenth century, and has been a secretary of state position since 1968. For 30 years, from 1988 to 2018, the position was titled Secretary of State for Health, before Prime Minister Theresa May added "and Social Care" to the designation in the 2018 British cabinet reshuffle. The office holder works alongside the other health and social care ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for health and social care, and the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Health and Social Care Select Committee. The current health secretary is Steve Barclay who was appointed by Rishi Sunak on 25 October 2022. Res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the UK's internet users for news. The website contains international news coverage, as well as British, entertainment, science, and political news. Many reports are accompanied by audio and video from the BBC's television and radio news services, while the latest TV and radio bulletins are also available to view or listen to on the site together with other current affairs programmes. BBC News Online is closely linked to its sister department website, that of BBC Sport. Both sites follow similar layout and content options and respective journalists work alongside each other. Location information provided by users is also shared with the website of BBC Weather to provide local content. From 1998 to 2001 the site was named best news website at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony Blair's Premiership of Tony Blair, government from 1997 to 2007, and was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) from 1983 to 2015, first for Dunfermline East (UK Parliament constituency), Dunfermline East and later for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (UK Parliament constituency), Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. He is the most recent Labour politician as well as the most recent Scottish politician to hold the office of prime minister. A Doctor of Philosophy, doctoral graduate, Brown studied history at the University of Edinburgh, where he was elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh, Rector in 1972. He spent his early career working as both a lecturer at a further education college and a t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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