Supporting the bereaved families of Armed Forces personnel

Abstract

The Armed Forces has a long and established tradition of supporting the families and relatives of personnel who die in service. However, recent events in the Middle East have seen a substantial increase in operational deaths, thereby placing extra demands on existing bereavement support mechanisms. In response to a perceived need, Cruse Bereavement Care secured funding over three years from the Department of Health, to design a bespoke military bereavement support package. The main focus of the support was to train Cruse bereavement volunteers to be conversant in the ways of the military, thereby facilitating a more meaningful and beneficial interaction, be it face-to-face or on the phone. This article documents how the initiative came about and details the foundations of the supplementary support currently in place.

It is followed by a description of how the programme was put into practice by two Cruse volunteers, Beryl Austoni and Hilary Linsey,