Happy 40th to the Hive

November 20, 2024

HIVE started in 1984 – the same year as Band Aid, Virgin’s first transatlantic flight from the UK, and the first Apple Mac computer going on sale.

It was the 1984 Adjutant General Conference which identified the need for military families to have improved access to welfare support, which led to HIVE – the Hohne Information and Volunteer Exchange – being implemented. Those volunteers provided information on the local area, guidance on settling in to British Forces Germany, and became that first point of contact for families who needed further support.

A lot has changed since then; firstly, HIVE grew, initially further across Germany, then across the UK – starting with Aldershot – and Northern Ireland, before branching out further overseas.

Changing times

What’s changed for HIVE staff over the years is, firstly, becoming civil servants and part of an MOD organisation. And secondly, the constantly changing operational requirements of the army and single services, requiring staff to adapt to and support the evolving and diverse information needs of the service community. This has been most notable in terms of supporting deployment, transition and non-UK nationals to name but three, whilst maintaining HIVE’s core provision of location-specific information for those assigned or settling into a new area.

Launch event

HIVE’s 40th anniversary launch event was held in June in MOD Main Building, London, and was a tri-service celebration for the single service HIVE organisations, with army and MOD colleagues, plus others who work alongside HIVE.

Aside from there being a lot of cake, the tri-service HIVEs chose two charity partners as their 40th anniversary beneficiaries: the Celebrating Forces Families Awards and Operation Christmas Box. Localised 40th anniversary events will take place within army, RAF and Royal Navy/ Royal Marines locations across the UK and overseas, throughout the remainder of this year.

Find out more about events near you visit army.mod.uk/support-and-training/welfare/hive-information-centres

HIVE is proud to have provided information and signposting support to the service community for four decades, and to have done so as a part of the MOD for much of that time.

The ethos of HIVE’s volunteer founders in Germany will remain at the core of what HIVE still does 40 years on; providing up-to-date and accurate information and support, when it’s most needed, and to anyone within the service community.

The HIVE strapline of ‘You Ask, We Answer’ has stood the test of time and still endures.