Help for Heroes Tidworth Office

Mark Mark Elliott, Chief of Staff, spent 25 Years in the Grenadier Guards, followed by 8 years in the Insurance Industry. He is the Founder and Chairman of the National Organisation of Beaters and Pickers Up www.nobs.org.uk. He also spends what time he has left over running marathons (and other sporting challenges!) playing cricket and shooting / beating. Mark is married to Claire and lives with Botham and Basil , two mad Labs, in Amesbury. His daughter Laura graduated from University of Nottingham and is now a serving Police Officer in the Metropolitan Police Force.

Amanda Davies, Donations Manager. I work for Help for Heroes because it is a charity close to my heart. My husband, father, brothers, uncles and cousins are all serving or have served. Sadly losing and having many soldiers injured on the last tour of Iraq brought home the importance of H4H. It reinforces that regardless of opinion, the public are behind the valuable work our service personnel do.

Maria Rees, Correspondence. Married to Justin for 15 years who is serving with 2 Royal Welsh (yes another welsh one!!). I have an 11 year old daughter called Emily-Jane who is the light of my life. Volunteered back in November 2007 after Amanda explained what Help for Heroes hoped to do. I really enjoy my job, opening the mail, sending out all the receipts and certificates and feel highly honoured to be part of Help for Heroes.

Katie Cherrett, Head of H4H Challenges. I worked at Hoovers Ltd in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, for 3 years before making the life changing decision to pack my bags and move to Tidworth to join the H4H Team. It was extremely daunting but as my partner Chad lived quite close it made it that much easier. With a lot of family in the forces this is a cause that is close to my heart and am extremely honored to be part of H4H, we owe so much to our service personnel and I am proud that I am able ‘to do my bit’.

Tom Humphery, H4H Challenges. After leaving University and wandering the globe for a couple of years I came back to Wiltshire to start looking for a career. I bumped into Mark at the pub one weekend, he needed someone to cover Sian while she was on two weeks Holiday leave. Six months later I'm still here working on Challenges with Katie and Kirsty and with no end in sight!

Kirsty Large, H4H Challenges. After marrying my husband Benedict, an officer serving with 2Royal Welsh, I upped sticks and left Pembrokeshire, where I grew up and worked as a local reporter, and moved into married quarters in Tidworth. Doing something as rewarding as working for Help For Heroes is ideal because I am getting to know loads of people in the area and I feel more involved in what my husband does. I am extremely proud of him and all our serving troops and I feel honoured to be helping in some small way.

Clare Browne, Head of Events, is wondering what possessed her to join this mad house that they call H4H! I have had a very colourful past with a variety of jobs from Air-hostessing for BA, PA with a Life & Pensions company, volunteering as a Special Constable for Wiltshire Constabulary & Office Manager for an Events & Promotions Company in Dublin to name but a few. I have seen a little bit of the world and decided my calling was to work for a charity.

Davina Liddell, Events is married to Anthony, a serving officer in the Coldstream Guards. They made the move down to Hampshire from London and live in Middle Wallop, with Tosca- their black lab puppy. Davina spent the past 4 years working for a private travel agency in London, organizing top end holidays. Prior to this she worked out in South Africa at Sir Richard Branson’s Lodge in the western sector of Kruger. Having moved to Hampshire, Davina started volunteering at H4H, and was thrilled to be asked to join the Events Team full time!

Sian Beacon, Events Administrator. After leaving University I decided to put my spare time to good use and began volunteering for H4H, until I was lucky enough to be offered a position in Dec 2008. My Dad has been with 2 Royal Welsh since 1991 and I have many friends in the forces including my boyfriend Alex who serves with the Royal Artillery. Alex is currently on tour in Afghanistan so this is a cause close to my heart and I feel extremely proud and lucky to be part of this crazy but wonderful team.

Gina Jones, Tidworth Office Manager. I am 32 years old and have links with the military as my father served 33 years in the Army Air Corps. I also spent 3 years in the Air Cadets serving with 1011 squadron ATC, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have previously worked within the military as a PA and also worked as General Insurance Advisor for the military, based at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. I have two Alaskan Malamutes that I live with along with Phil! I adore animals and all things cute and fluffy. I cannot believe how lucky I am to be working for such a wonderful and worthwhile cause. The office is constantly buzzing with fabulous volunteers and supporters and I totally love it. As Mark Elliott so perfectly said to me once: “Help for Heroes is a lifestyle, not a job”. How true that is!

Zoe Cooper: I started volunteering at Help for Heroes back in April after being a Dental Nurse for 7 years. I am now a full time member of this crazy but wonderful world of Help for Heroes and feel highly privileged to be working for such an amazing charity. I have come from a military back ground and now want to “do my bit” for our brave men and women serving in the current conflicts. Bring on the challenges!

Elizabeth Butler: After leaving university and entering the working world I have now been lucky enough to join the Help for Heroes team. Living nearby and having a military background this is a charity very close to my heart. I cannot wait to start helping towards such a worthwhile cause and having a fabulous time along the way!