Academic Role For Veterans' Charity Chief

Veterans Aid CEO Dr Hugh Milroy has become a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. With effect from 1 July 2010 he will become the only head of a military charity to hold such a position. Read more at the King's College London site.

Dr Milroy said “This is an honour for me personally, but also a fillip for Veterans Aid which has a uniquely holistic approach to ex-Service issues. My team at VA offers a broad cross-section of military, academic, practical and professional skills. We already have a close relationship with King’s College and have provided an internship opportunity to a War Studies graduate as a result.”

Professors Simon Wessely and Christopher Dandeker, who are co-Directors of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research, an interdisciplinary research centre based in the Institute of Psychiatry and the Department of War Studies said “We welcome the opportunity to work more closely with Hugh Milroy, whose connection with King’s will be mainly through the research and analysis conducted by KCMHR.

“The important work that Hugh carries out at Veterans Aid links well with KCMHR’s ongoing interests in the effects of military service on the health and well being of personnel when they are in the Armed Forces, but also when they leave and take up civilian careers. Most of those who do so, do well; however, a small but significant minority do not. Providing well researched findings to inform policies on how best to support the health and well being of serving and ex-Service personnel will continue to be a key objective of KCMHR, and we are pleased to be able to work with Hugh on these issues. ”

Dr Milroy is a former RAF officer and Gulf War Veteran. His PhD was awarded for research into the causes of homelessness among veterans. Veterans Aid provided 20,000 nights of accommodation last year and offers a home to around 60 veterans, of all ages, at its East London hostel.

“Homelessness is the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr Milroy. “When a Veteran is reduced to living on the streets he (or she) has lost everything; the events leading up to that loss can be medical, social, psychological or economic. Life in Britain today is complex and challenging; it is poverty, not military service that accounts for the problems that bring most veterans to our doors. And that can be a result of myriad things, ranging from relationship breakdown to job-loss.

“I’m delighted to be part of the process by which people are educated about the wider issues and look forward greatly to forging closer links with a prestigious academic organisation like King’s College.”