The event, which is Britain’s largest indoor tattoo and features over 1,250 performers, took place at Arena Birmingham on 24-25 November.
It marked the 11th year that the Tattoo had supported the Charity, which cares for ex-Servicemen and women and their partners living with disability or dementia, and brings the total amount collected for The Royal Star & Garter Homes to just under £110,000.
The money was raised through programme sales and an end-of-show collection from Sunday’s performance. The Charity is grateful to the West Midlands branch of Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, which provided 35 volunteers on the day to sell programmes and manage the collections.
The two-day event included marching bands from across the UK and Europe, spectacular displays and all the military pomp and ceremony associated with the prestigious annual Birmingham International Tattoo.
Also impressing the crowds was The Wreath of Respect Motorcycle Riders – a group of men and women who are passionate about motorbikes and use this as a means of supporting charities which help serving members and veterans of our Armed Forces, many of the team being veterans themselves.
Tattoo Producer Norman Rogerson MBE said: “Since we started the Birmingham International Tattoo 30 years ago we have supported many charities and we are particularly pleased, through the generosity of our audiences, to continue to support The Royal Star & Garter Homes and their local Solihull home in their ongoing work caring for the veterans who have given so much to the country.”
The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ Chief Executive, Andy Cole, addressed the audience at the Tattoo. He later said: “We are extremely grateful to the organisers, the generous audiences and the volunteers at the Birmingham International Tattoo. They have once again supported us magnificently and we are proud to be a part of this military community. The money raised will make a real difference to the lives of the residents living in our Solihull Home.”
Caption:
Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association: Volunteers from the West Midlands branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association helped raise money for The Royal Star & Garter Homes (credit The Royal Star & Garter Homes)
Tattoo finale: Over 1,250 performers took part in the 2018 Birmingham International Tattoo (credit Birmingham International Tattoo)
RSGH stall: Community fundraisers Kevin Rudge and Charlie Munro at The Royal Star & Garter Homes stall (credit The Royal Star & Garter Homes)
For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper
Communications Officer
e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org
t: 0208 481 7669 / 07391 868796
Cally Madden
Marketing & Communications Manager
e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org
t: 020 8481 7692 / 07881 017299
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2019.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
