As Christmas approaches, we’d like to share some of the ways we've supported and championed the armed forces community in the last six months.
Highlights include our media partnership for the inaugural LGBTQ+ Defence Awards, our stand at the Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEI) at Excel – where we showcased our services and forged new relationships – and our livestreaming of even more of your forces sport.
In this newsletter, we’ve got top picks from Forces News, updates from our Live Events team, plus our revamp of the ‘Pecking Order' by BFBS Creative. And we’re really pleased to share the festive fun we’ve got in store on BFBS TV and Radio.
From all of us at BFBS, we wish you Season’s Greetings and a very happy, healthy New Year.
Ben Chapman, CEO.
A 'Pecking Order' Fit for Today
Our BFBS Creative team is on a mission to make Defence more inclusive and diverse. One of the first steps towards realising this goal was to take a fresh look at the well-known poster titled ‘The Pecking Order’.
Adam Waters, Director of BFBS Academy and Creative said: ‘When you start working with the armed forces or civil servants for the first time the rank and grade system can be immensely confusing. The original 20-year-old poster needed updating. It’s very much of its time…most people are male, and the hierarchy is pressing down on everyone.’
Working with our internal Armed Forces Network, and after taking plenty of feedback on board, we’ve created a digital version which you can download here.
If you’d like some free printed versions of the poster or want help with diversity and inclusion, please email [email protected].
Exclusives, Live Sport, and the latest from Ukraine...all from Forces News
We've increased the number of live sport broadcasts by 30% in 2023, rounding off the year in France with coverage of the Kentish Cup. An incredible 45,000 people watched the inter-service netball championships which was streamed for the first time, and 94,000 tuned in for the defence rugby world cup in August. We've also invested in a Starlink system to help at venues with low connectivity. Catch all the action on Forces News YouTube channel and overseas and at sea on BFBS TV. If you have a sport you'd like covered, contact the Sport Editor at [email protected].
In a relaxed, long interview, reporter Sian Grzeszczyk sat down with General Sir Patrick Sanders. He reflected on Future Soldier, why he loved soldiering, and what he thought when a Challenger was blown up in Ukraine. His response might surprise you! It had one million views on our social media platforms and is available in full on the Forces News YouTube channel and the Sitrep podcast.
In our latest coverage from Ukraine, reporter Simon Newton spent a week looking at how British weaponry and training support is impacting the war effort. He went inside a drone school and interviewed Ukrainian leaders. New battlefield kit and tactics on the frontline continue to be a key focus for the news team.
Christmas Entertainment Overseas and at Sea on BFBS TV
Whether you're posted with family overseas or deployed for a short time, we bring you the very best of UK TV such as BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and Sky. Alongside these core channels, we’ve worked closely with our partners – including DAZN, TNT Sports, Warner Bros, Disney and Sony – to create a bespoke package of primetime series, blockbuster movies and top sport.
Our relationship with the distributors of the Premier League also means we can bring our overseas audiences all the football action over the holiday period, including Prime Video’s Boxing Day extravaganza.
Boosting Morale on Ops and in the UK
Our Live Events team has delivered more than twenty events during the last six months. This includes multiple trips overseas in support of Op CABRIT, Op AZOTIZE, OP SHADER, and Op KIPION, plus an event in Naples for NATO.
In the UK, they produced the Army Sports Awards – which BFBS also livestreamed – plus events for the military rehabilitation centre at Stanford Hall, Provost Day, RAF Odiham Families Day, and the 1 Yorks homecoming.
The team just received this festive thank you from Lt Col J M Anthistle, Commanding Officer, 9 Theatre Support Battalion REME: “In providing a very enthusiastic DJ, world class magician and engaging snow sisters you created a wonderful atmosphere in which children and adults alike could relax and come together. This is the first chance we have been able to do this as the newest unit in the British Army and we are deploying on our first operational tour to Germany in Jan for six months. I really wanted to maximise the opportunity to give something back to our service personnel and families; thanks to you all expectations were exceeded.”
If you need help with an event, contact BFBS Live Events here.
A Sparkling Line-up on BFBS Radio
From heart-warming messages to entertaining music specials, we’ve got radio programmes to bring joy to the whole military community.
Celebrities from the worlds of music and entertainment, including Damian Lewis, Dom Joly, Scouting for Girls frontman Roy Stride, and the band D: Ream, host their own shows. We’ve also got the Forces Favourite Festive 40, as voted by the armed forces, and on Christmas Eve our listeners can even track Santa with Mavgeeks our show for military aircraft obsessives.
Throughout Christmas Day we’ll also be broadcasting messages from around the world, connecting loved ones – this starts with a two-hour special at 10:00 (UK time) with messages from our forces in Estonia.
See full details here.
Success for BFBS Presenters at Community Radio Awards
We’re delighted to share news of a double win at this year’s Community Radio Awards. BFBS Radio Presenter, Gemma-Leigh James, won Entertainment Show of the Year for her BFBS Brize Norton Breakfast Show, plus a bronze certificate for Female Presenter of the Year. The judges said: “The presenter impressed the judges with their confident handling of both the fun and the more sensitive and informative topics.”
BFBS Aldershot Presenter, Natasha Reneaux, also clinched a gold award in the Special category for her exceptional coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III, plus a bronze award in the News, Journalism & Factual Storytelling of the Year category for her outstanding interview, ‘Forced Out’.
Natasha said: “I wouldn’t have been able to achieve these awards without the privileged access and trusted relationship BFBS have with the military. I’m thrilled and honoured to have been recognised for the third year running at the Community Radio Awards, and that our peers continue to notice our important work at BFBS.”