Alan Brayley  VR DL, Deputy Lord Lieutenant for West Glamorgan.

Alan Brayley Started his career at 16 as an apprentice glass processor at a large Glass processing works. Moving on to take a managerial role.

Alan has worked from the shop floor through to senior management gaining knowledge and understanding of manufacturing processes and the wider business aspects.

In 1991, Alan started his own company manufacturing hermetically sealed double glazed glass units. Following this, he expanded the business and started manufacturing and installing commercial and domestic aluminium windows, doors, curtain walling and other related products and services. Building it into a multimillion-pound turnover business.

Living in Southwest Wales, Alan is acknowledged as one of the region’s leading businessmen. He was appointed Chair of the Swansea West Business Park forum and whilst President of the Swansea Bay Business Club, he was instrumental in growing it to become the largest networking Business club in the region. Alan remains as a board member.

He has won numerous business awards and has also been recognised for his personal business achievements.

He is a Deputy Lord Lieutenant for West Glamorgan and is a High Sherriff in Nomination for 2024 / 2025.

Swansea University recently awarded him affiliate status in recognition of his significant contribution to the University. He sits on the Bank of England’s West Wales Business Panel, works as a business mentor with Careers Wales, working with primary and secondary schools to enhance entrepreneurial and business skills, was elected Chair of Governors at a local primary school and is currently a Governor at a local Secondary school.

Alan is a veteran reservist having served 20 years as an infantry soldier and spends much of his time supporting other veterans and raising money for ABF The Soldiers Charity.

 Leah (Compliance & HR Assistant) Royal Educare 

Compliance and HR administrator at Royal Educare, I have heard on so many occasions about the Veteran awards that we have been attending over the years and was absolutely thrilled to invited to join the judging panel this year. Having had former Veterans in my own family I recognise the struggles they can face so to hear the inspiring and positive stories of the achievements of veterans over the years I’m very excited to recognise their hard work.

Peter Davies  – Regional Director Wales, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity

His role encompasses inter alia; representing the Charity in Wales; engaging a wide range of audiences both military and civilian on the work of the Charity to encourage support to regional fundraising, continual development of our volunteer fundraising, initiating and delivery of regional fundraising events.

ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is the Army’s national charity and provides support to soldiers, former soldiers, and their families, for life – whatever the need is. It supports the Army family of all generations, not just those affected by recent conflict. Working in support of corps and regimental benevolent charities, The Soldiers’ Charity relies heavily on community fundraisers, volunteers and benefactors to ensure that those in need get the assistance they deserve.

Peter comes from a family with a long Army tradition (fifth generation), and, as a long-serving former British soldier and a proud Welshman, he fully appreciates the work of the Welsh Veterans Awards and whose aims are very close to his heart. Peter was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours military list, prior to ending his 23 years regular service in the British Army finishing his time in the British Army as a Warrant Officer Class One in the Royal Logistics Corps. Married to Nicola for 25 years with two children, Keiran (25) and Charley (16).

Nia-Wyn Evans  – Senior Associate Solicitor

I am a specialist military solicitor at Hugh James, based at our London office. I work within the military team representing serving and former military personnel.

Hugh James have proudly sponsored the Veteran Awards since its launch in 2019. I have been fortunate to be invited as a panel member for the awards since its launch and continue to be taken back by the incredible nominations submitted.

I look forward to further celebrating the success and contributions of the military community at the Welsh Veterans Awards towards the end of this month.

 Annie Martin, Group Marketing Manager at Pinnacle Complete Office Solutions

 Having worked at Pinnacle for over 5 years, I am honoured to of had the opportunity to be involved with many serving and ex-Military personnel, from charity events, training and being awarded both the Bronze and Silver Covenant status. Having attended the Veterans Awards and listened to the fantastic achievements of our former Military, I am privileged to form part of this year’s upcoming judging panel and look forward to hearing the fantastic stories and accomplishments of those involved.

Samuel T Ready, Entrepreneur, Director and Author:

Barry John MBE. The VC Gallery CEO and Graffiti artist.

I am the founder of the Mental heath charity The VC Gallery situated in Pembrokeshire.

As a former winner of the Welsh Veterans Awards I am very proud to be on the judging panel for this years event. The Veterans awards shows our nation that veterans go on to do some amazing things in all aspects of trade, commerce and charitable endeavours that bring so much back to the Armed forces community in Wales.

I served for 24 years in the Royal Regiment of Wales and later in the Royal Welsh, whilst serving, I studied Mental health in the Military and was also a war artist that had exhibitions around Europe and Asia. After leaving the Forces I set up a charity looking at art engagement and breaking isolation in the community that has gone on to become a big project in West Wales.

As a big supporter of the Welsh Veterans Awards I am looking forward seeing some of the amazing initiatives active and making a difference in Wales.

Colonel David Hammond – Head of engagement RFCA Wales

David is a former regular Army Commanding Officer.

Since leaving the Army in 2007 he has operated at board level in the overseas security and sustainable energy sectors, where amongst other things, he has raised funding for a broad portfolio of overseas energy-related projects, as well as overseeing Intellectual Property Rights development programmes and business start-ups.  Currently, in the UK he is the head of engagement for the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’  Association for Wales.

Away from work he has been actively involved within the voluntary sector. He was Commandant of the Dyfed and Glamorgan Army Cadet Force from 2012-2015 and Colonel Cadets for Wales from 2015 to 2019. He is the chair of trustees for the veterans charity Valley Veterans, based in the Rhondda; is chair of the business advisory group to the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS); is Chair of the Army Cadets Charitable Trust (ACCT) Cymru/Wales, and is a trustee of the Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust (MSTC).

Christopher Jenkins – General Manager for Bridgend Audi, part of the Sinclair Group

I am the General Manager for Bridgend Audi, part of the Sinclair Group. I have been at Bridgend Audi for some 12 years now having previously working in the banking sector. I have three children and live in Cowbridge.

We service, maintain and retail all tyres of Audi’s from the Audi A1 to the new all electric Audi Etron GTRS. Bridgend Audi was recognised as the Number 1 Approved Centre in the UK in 2021 and consistently comes in the top 10 for the industry recognised Q Power. We take extreme pride in our position within the community and see supporting the Veteran’s Awards as a great union for us.

I was first involved with the Veterans Awards in 2020 have been truly inspired by the outstanding efforts and contributions of everyone involved. To see some of the endeavours and accomplishments of the ex-military is remarkable. I am really excited to be participating in the judging panel this year and meeting and learning about the 2022 finalists.

Angela Windsor, Founder of Print Inc Embroidery & Print and Tarw Sports

I am the MD and Founder of Print Inc Embroidery & Print and Tarw Sports, based in Wales.  Print Inc are specialists within the embroidery industry and supply branded clothing, workwear and uniform to companies and the Military across the UK and Ireland.  Tarw Sports specialises within the sports industry and supplies bespoke sports kit such as Rugby/ Football/ Netball to Triathlon kits to various teams and clubs from grass roots to professional levels in the community and Military.

Having worked and been personally linked to the Military for several years, I am extremely passionate about supporting the welfare of our veterans and  their families in the community.  As a company and individually we actively participate in fund raising events and awareness raising, this year and Abseil with the ABF Solders Charity.  I also founded the Shoe Box Appeal for Veterans and their families, which we will run again this Christmas after a very successful first year launch.

The Veteran Awards are such an important event in our annual calendar, and recognising the inspirational work and efforts of our Veterans who have gone above and beyond is such a privilege to be a part of.

We would like to thank everyone who attended this years Scottish Veterans Awards hosted by Mark McKenzie and held at the Village Hotel and Leisure Club Edinburgh on the 27th April 2022.  The Awards were sponsored by Joint Force Alba and in Support of The ABF The Soldiers’ Charity! It was such a fantastic event with a great atmosphere in the room!

Well done to everyone who was shortlisted as finalists, we had a huge amount of applications and the shortlisting process was extremely difficult. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who put forward nominations, you are all doing amazing things in your relevant fields and you should be so proud of your achievements!

Extremely thankful and very honoured to have in attendance and hear from the General Officer Scotland Major – General Bill Wright CBE and the charismatic Edinburgh Garrison Sergeant Major Anthony Gibson during the evening.  It was lovely to have in attendance Pam Gosal Member of the Scottish Parliament. A special thanks also has to go to the Mini Pipe Band from the Army School of Bagpipe Music & Highland Drumming and also the Scots Guards who were there supporting in their famous red Tunics.

We are so thankful to all our supporters, volunteers and sponsors who helped put this amazing night together!

Some of the highlights of the night saw Galloglas Group Ltd win Employer of the year with their founder Richie Nicoll winning Entrepreneur of the year!  The Fantastic David Dent MBE became our Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and also the Scottish Veterans Awards Champion for 2022!

We want to Inspire our future service leavers that great things can happen. It’s you who will act as role models and in some cases mentors, remember Positivity breeds Positivity.

Our Winners are :

Veterans Awards Champion:  David Dent MBE 

Reservist of the Year – Sponsored by Pathfinder Magazine

Winner  – Mike Edwards

Silver – Scott Menzies

Bronze – Duncan Campbell

Health and Well-being Award –  Sponsored by GHN  Property and Developments 

Winner  – Simplicity in Mind

Silver – Be-Inn Unity

Bronze – Forces Children Education

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Shortlisted Finalists, remember its you who inspire our future service leavers – Keep an eye out on Facebook and our social media sites for pictures and videos of the evening coming soon!

March 15th saw the Production Company Leek and Potato film our amazing shortlisted finalists from within the iconic and historic Edinburgh Castle!

This was a FREE to attend day where all the Finalists were invited to Edinburgh Castle to Network with other finalists, sponsors and supporters, receive their certificates and  film their back ground stories to promote the amazing things they are doing!

It was a true honour for our team to meet our shortlisted Finalists for the Scottish Veterans Awards in support of the ABF The Soldiers’ Charity Scotland.  During the morning the all shortlisted nominees were issued with their finalist certificates by our sponsors  Nia- Wyn Evans (Hugh James) John Gillie (ABF The Soldiers’ Charity)  Emma Davies (Joint Force Alba) and Garrison Sergeant Major Anthony Gibson (British Army)

All our team can’t wait to hear about your inspiring journeys on the evening itself – April 27th Village Hotel Edinburgh Sponsored by Joint Force Alba

Please feel free to check out some pictures from the Certificate giving day  HERE 

BFBS Video Coverage HERE 

We are extremely thankful to Emma and her team at Joint Force Alba Ltd who are our main sponsors at the Scottish Veterans Awards 2022, we are delighted to have a Veteran Owned Company  who are based and operating in Scotland become our main sponsors for this years awards and all our team really appreciate your support for our Veteran Community!

We recently  caught up with Emma Davies MD of Joint Force Alba

“For us at Joint Force Alba, it really was a no brainer for us to become the main sponsor for the Scottish Veterans Awards and to continue our support for the awards. One of the main reasons Joint Force Alba was established was to help employers in Scotland to firstly understand what excellent employees Veterans can be and how to attract and recruit them into their organisations. We feel that this is shared with the ethos of the Scottish Veterans Awards. It’s about showcasing the phenomenal achievements of Veterans in Scotland across such a broad range of areas. Whilst clearly for our business, the employment side is important, actually for the Joint Force Alba team, we know how much more Veterans can bring. Most people who join the Forces have a sense of duty, both to Queen and Country but also to their community. So for there to be categories to recognise that as well is brilliant. Sport and fitness categories go hand in hand with ex-military too.”

“However, the Veteran community have a bad habit of not shouting enough about their achievements. The Scottish Veterans Awards provides the perfect avenue to showcase their amazing work and achievements after their Forces career which is something Joint Force Alba is fully aligned with.”

Who are Joint Force Alba:

Joint Force Alba are a specialist ex-military recruitment agency dedicated to the Scottish market. We are a Veteran-owned and run organisation who specialise in matching the unique experience and highly trained talent from the Armed Forces with employers in Scotland. Joint Force Alba are Armed Forces Covenant signatories and Silver ERS award holders. We work collaboratively with a number of organisations to support the wider employment of Veterans in Scotland including Government bodies and military charities.

What do we do:

Joint Force Alba are a specialist ex-military recruitment agency dedicated to the Scottish market. In short, we introduce Scottish employers to ex Armed Forces job seekers who bring unique experience and high levels of training. We work across Scotland and cover a variety of industries including engineering, IT and cyber, construction, energy and transport. All of our candidates have served in the Armed Forces at some point in their career and may be serving Reservists still. They are looking to work for organisations who value their whole skillset from their trade training, to their leadership and management skills as well as their values such as integrity, commitment and loyalty.

In particular, Joint Force Alba often acts as a translator to help employers and ex-military candidates to share an understanding of the skills and experience required for a role. We enable clients to see where an ex-Forces employee could fit into their organisation, either through us supporting the recruitment of individual roles or through a consultancy programme to hep clients recruit ex-military directly.

You can Nominate or apply for this years Scottish Veterans Awards  – The Veterans Awards – Scottish Veterans Awards

Learn More about the Fantastic work Joint Forces Alba do – Jobs | Scotland | Recruitment | Careers | Military | Armed Forces (jointforcealba.co.uk)