Free tickets available for service in Edinburgh marking 140 years of SSAFA

15 April 2025

SSAFA has been commemorating our 140th year throughout 2025, with a service set for Edinburgh at 2pm on Saturday, 31 May, at St Mary’s Episcopal Church.

The charity was founded in 1885 after The Times published a letter from Major – later Colonel Sir – James Gildea, asking the public to support the wives, widows and children of soldiers and sailors who were killed, injured or rendered incapacitated through service to Queen and Country. 

This, effectively, was the foundation stone of what became the Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Families’ Association, which in 1919 added Airmen to its title, becoming later SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. 

The event at St Mary’s Episcopal Church will recognise the contributions made by SSAFA’s volunteers and supporters for the past 140 years. It begins at 2pm on Saturday, 31 May, with several special performances throughout.

Performers include pipers, drummers and dancers from Queen Victoria School, The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the King’s Own Scottish Borderers Pipes and Drums, and the Edinburgh Military Wives Choir. 

Sandra Millar, Corporate and Special Events Officer, Scotland at SSAFA, commented: “We hope to welcome as many people as possible to the service in May to show our collective support for the Armed Forces community. The event will recognise the efforts of SSAFA’s employees and volunteers, past and present, who provide practical and emotional support to serving Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families across Scotland and beyond.”