The CEO of frontline UK charity Veterans Aid , Dr Hugh Milroy, has been awarded a professorship at Australia’s prestigious Flinders University, in recognition of his globally acknowledged expertise on veterans’ wellbeing.
His new academic status was confirmed on 2/8/24 ahead of his proposed involvement with the Open Door: Improving the wellbeing of veterans and public safety personnel and their families initiative as part of the Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.
Hugh, who in early 2023 became an Honorary Professor in Social Work at the University of East Anglia, said,
“I am delighted to have been recognised in this way by an academic organisation for which I have so much respect and whose research chimes so closely with the ethos of Veterans Aid.
“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Professor Ben Wadham and colleagues at Flinders for some time. His approach to wellbeing research and delivery of holistic care to members of the veterans’ community has much in common with the Welfare to Wellbeing© model that I introduced in 2009 and which has underpinned activity at Veterans Aid ever since. I look forward to co-operating on further research projects that address the universal ‘real world’ problems of veterans in our respective countries.”
Professor Wadham said,
“Our leadership in changing the paradigm from welfare to wellbeing in veteran and family research families has been inspired by Professor Milroy’s advocacy and will be boosted by his profile at Open Door. It is a great privilege to have Professor Milroy on board.”
A Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College, London from 2010-13, Professor Milroy still gives an annual lecture to MSc students on the War & Psychiatry course in the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College. His paper on Stolen Trauma was co-authored with Edgar Jones, Professor of the History of Medicine and Psychiatry at King’s.
In 2016 he became an Honorary Visiting Fellow and Doctor of Civil Law (honoris causa) at UEA. His influence on the global stage was extended in 2022 when he became a vice-president of the World Veterans Federation (WVF) and subsequently Head of its Wellbeing Division.
Following receipt of the WVF Wellbeing Award in Belgrade Professor Milroy said,
“It was an honour to receive this award, not for myself, but as acknowledgment of all that the VA team has achieved over the years. We operated throughout the pandemic and, through the exercise of our unique Welfare to Wellbeing© model, have an unparalleled success rate in turning around the lives of veterans in crisis. Receiving this global affirmation of our tried and tested prevention model from our peers was a significant moment in our history.”
Hugh Milroy has been involved with Veterans Aid since 1996 and took on his present role in 2005. In 2011 he was awarded an OBE for services to the ex-service community. Before committing full time to heading up the charity he served for 17 years with the Royal Air Force. The innovative work he undertook in introducing community wellbeing to the development of personal effectiveness in the Armed Forces was ground-breaking. Research for his Doctorate about homelessness among veterans – much of which was conducted on the streets – was also undertaken during this period.
Professor Milroy will remain CEO of the operational charity Veterans Aid where he regularly hosts visiting academics, politicians and researchers from the UK and overseas.
