AFF’s Germany Roadshow in Montgomery’s Bar, Paderborn, was one of our most successful ever, with a high turnout of families taking the chance to speak directly to the chain of command and experts from all walks of Army life. AFF Comms & Marketing Director Donna Bernard reports…


This year we were honoured to have the presence of Brigadier Ian Bell, Commander British Forces Germany, and Brigadier Mike Elviss, Commander 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade, on our panel, as well as AFF’s Chief Exec, Sara Baade, who facilitated the many questions from the families attending.

Brig Ian Bell was extremely forthright in his praise of AFF’s work and the essential support the charity provides to Army families in Germany. We had 100 per cent positive feedback from the families who attended, who said it had been wholly worthwhile to take the time to be there to speak to AFF and members of command.

The AFF team (from left):
AFF Paderborn Co-ordinator Tilly Lambert-Lee; AFF Germany Manager Katy Brookfield; AFF Education & Childcare Specialist Lucy Scott; AFF Foreign & Commonwealth Specialist Katherine Houlston; and AFF Housing Specialist Cat Calder

They also acknowledged the support provided by other organisations present, including DIO, Housing, Babcock, Home-Start, MOD Schools, BFG Health Services, Army Education Centre, Army Welfare Service, Dental, HIVE, LEC Support Services, Labour Support Unit, NAAFI and the Career Transition Partnership as well as the station commanders for Paderborn, Bielefeld and Gutersloh.

One family said: “We’re able to go home from the Roadshow with the knowledge that there’s a wealth of people to support us up to drawdown and beyond.”   

Families also took advantage of one-to-ones with AFF Specialists Cat Calder (Housing), Katherine Houlston (Foreign & Commonwealth) and Lucy Scott (Education & Childcare).

The majority of the questions on the day focused on education, particularly the UK school admissions process, as well as housing, medical issues, dental provision, the Service Families Accommodation cleaning scheme and even the ethics around using WhatsApp to communicate with families.

Several of those present had also submitted questions to be asked on their behalf, both before and after the Roadshow, which we unfortunately didn’t have time to get to, but rest assured that these will be published with answers on our website, along with those questions and answers that were asked on the day.

We look forward to seeing more families at our next Roadshow which, by popular demand, will be held sooner rather than later – look out for more info on the AFF website.

Our thanks to all the families, command and supporting businesses for making this event such a success.

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