Councillors back veteran campaign

A new way of supporting veterans in the community was unanimously backed by Worthing Borough Council on Tuesday.

By The Newsroom

Published 22nd Dec 2016, 10:02 BST

Updated 29th Dec 2016, 15:29 BST

Worthing Town Hall decorated with Remembrance wreaths in November

‘Count them in’, a campaign launched by the Royal British Legion in May, aims to highlight the lack of gathered knowledge of members of the armed forces in their communities.

The campaign calls on the UK, Scottish and Northern Irish governments to include a question in the 2021 UK census to help identify veterans and their families.

This, the Legion says, will allow support to be more focussed.

“It is a very important thing for the ex-service community,” said councillor Major Tom Wye, who himself served with the Royal Engineers from 1960-1997.

Mr Wye proposed the motion to back the campaign when the council met at Worthing Town Hall on Tuesday evening.

He explained the change would allow resources to be channelled to better benefit the ex-service community.

The motion to support the ‘Count them in’ campaign was unanimously backed by Worthing Borough Council.