Baz  left school in 1970 with no qualifications, and joined the Staffordshire Regiment as  a Junior Soldier.  During his 24 years service, over 3 of those were on active duty in both the Gulf and Northern Ireland.

 

He left the Army in 1994 and with a young family to support he prepared well;  yet making the transition to ‘civvy street’  presented many challenges. "It was just very different and took a lot of getting used to”.  

He worked in the voluntary, community and further education sectors where he undertook a wide range of community based projects and academic qualifications; all focused on assisting people of all ages to fulfil their true potential.  In 2006 he was awarded an MBE for services to further education and young people. In 2010 he became a self employed People and Organisational Development Coach. 

 

Building on those experiences and wanting to find solutions to why so many of his friends and former service colleagues and their family members found some aspects of life in civvy street challenging he undertook a Masters course of study  in Military Veterans Health and Wellbeing, graduating with an MSc in 2017.  

 

What we know is things change, we change, our needs change, our personal circumstances change, support and information changes. How do we thrive? 

 

We know that meeting up with those we served with and experiencing activities together recreates those bonds and enables supporting information to be shared. 

 

With that knowledge and understanding he embarked on establishing the Veterans Reconnection Hub recruiting like minded individuals along the way.