25 Nov 19. The 5th SSAFA Chepstow Raceday held on November 20th met ‘all expectations and more,’ according to organiser Julian Nettlefold of BATTLESPACE.
“The SSAFA Raceday at Chepstow is now a key part of the defence industry’s annual calendar. The format of the Raceday expanded this year with the exciting addition of a briefing ‘From Force Development to Capability Development within Joint Forces Command,’ from Brigadier Robin Anderton-Brown Head of Capability Special Projects, Joint Forces Command during a business breakfast before racing. The brief brought the audience up to date with the latest developments and requirements from DE&S at Abbey Wood and JFC. Our guests gave a resounding thumbs up to this addition to their day. After the brief each sponsor of our six races gave a talk about their company and its activities.”
“Steve O’Leary OBE was magnificent in his handling of the Raffle and Auction. I am delighted to be able to announce that, thanks to the kind donations from our sponsors and attendees, that we raised £27612.18, a huge amount and we thank our guests for their generosity. This gives a cumulative total of over £92,000 since the event began in 2014 with the first Angela Nettlefold memorial race.”
Race sponsors this year were, Viasat UK Ltd., Spectra Group (UK) Ltd., Fujitsu, Jankel Group, TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS) and BATTLESPACE Publications.
In addition, table sponsors were from Allan Webb Ltd, Briggs Equipment Ltd, Exensor Technology and a table hosted by Alan Burge and his guests.
James Grant of SSAFA said, “SSAFA is proud to have been part of the Chepstow Race Day for the past five years. It is a fantastic event which has been growing year on year. We are absolutely thrilled with the fundraising total this year. We are so grateful to all of the companies involved with the day and in particular to Julian and BATTLESPACE Publications who worked so hard to put the day together. Last year, SSAFA helped more than 82,000 people and it is thanks to events like this that SSAFA is able to continue providing this lifelong support to the Armed Forces community.”
Diamond sponsor Steve Beeching, managing director, Viasat UK Ltd. said, “Viasat is committed to continuing help support veterans, members of the UK armed forces and their families. It’s an honor to participate in the annual SSAFA Raceday event at Chepstow and we would like to thank SSAFA and all of the great organizations that are involved in making this event a success year after year.”
Steve O’Leary OBE who acted as our auctioneer on the day, and executed the job of extracting money out of our guests pockets in only the way he can said, “The UK places more and more demands on our Military to protect and keep us safe, and I believe we all have a moral obligation to support these incredible people when they are in need. Government can never provide enough resources, so we must all make a contribution”.
Charlotte Caple of Chepstow said, “We were delighted to welcome SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity, back to Chepstow Racecourse as official raceday sponsors of our November 20th SSAFA Raceday. This meeting signals the fifth year running the charity has sponsored a meeting here at Chepstow. It is a privilege to help generate exposure for SSAFA who do such vital work in supporting military families.”
We were delighted to award Andrew Jankel, Chairman of Jankel Group and Jankel Holdings Inc. and Vice-Chairman of the Jordan JV with KADDB, with his BATTLESPACE Businessman Of The Year 2019 Award during the event. This was made by Major General Bill Robins OBE, a Viasat consultant.
Andrew Jankel said, “I’m honoured to have been awarded the 2019 Battlespace Businessman of the Year Award and pleased to have taken part in such a successful event at Chepstow; we all had a great day out! I would like to dedicate this award to my team here at Jankel because without their commitment, support and hard work, this could not have been achieved”. He added: “SSAFA is an important charity and we’re delighted to be able to support a cause that is so closely aligned to our client base in supporting the Armed Forces”.
The 6th SSAFA Chepstow Raceday will take place on November 20th2020.