Fun in the Field raises thousands for SSAFA

11 September 2023

Champion SSAFA fundraisers, Fun in the Field, have been hard at work in support of our Armed Forces community and SSAFA throughout 2023.

The weekend festival, combined with other Fun in the Field family fundraising efforts, including a huge team entry for the 13 Bridges Challenge in June, and Derek Simpson’s Royal Navy Bimble in August, has seen them raise just over £25,000 this year.

Held in Berwick St John, close to Shaftesbury on the Wiltshire-Dorset border, the original Fun in the Field event started off in 2015 as a barbecue held in the organiser’s back garden, but has progressed over the last seven years to being a massive fundraiser – and a lifeline for some attending veterans.

Organised by Royal Navy veteran Gary Hall and his wife Yvonne, plus Colour Sergeant Ian Smith RM, and the Fun in the Field Team, the event spans a long weekend of music, games and camaraderie.

The August bank holiday event resembled a mini-festival, with around 500 people attending. There are bands, children’s entertainment, a galley kitchen (nods to the Naval tradition), a bar, campsite and hog roasts galore.

Fun in the Field is only open to serving persons, veterans and their families, and local residents are also invited. There is a strong military tradition, with a Memorial Board to those ‘Fielders’ (attendees) who have passed away, with a bell being rung twice in honour. Then a minute’s silence, the Last Post, after which the partying begins in earnest.

Over the last six years, the Fun In The Field Team have doubled the amount they raised for the charity at each event and have long held SSAFA Fundraising Champion status.