Letter from The Not Forgotten Chief Executive

On behalf of everyone at The Not Forgotten, thank you for being part of the remarkable group of 206 associations, units and organisations who were represented at this year’s The Not Forgotten Buckingham Palace Garden Party, attended by the Royal Family. Together, you brought over 800 guests into the gardens last Friday—representing over a third of all those we had the honour of hosting alongside the Royal Family and our celebrity guests. Your presence helped make this year’s event, by many accounts, the most memorable yet. It was quite a show, and the mountain of thank-you letters we’ve received speaks volumes.

This success reflects not only our team’s dedication, but also the vibrant, balanced representation across the Tri-Service and Merchant Navy communities that you helped make possible. We work hard to rotate invitations each year to ensure fairness and to offer as many individuals as possible the chance to enjoy what is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thank you for helping us create those cherished memories.

As you may know, The Not Forgotten receives no statutory funding. We rely entirely on the generosity of donors, sponsors, and legacies to deliver events like the Garden Party and our year-round programme of support for veterans and serving personnel. Hosting the Garden Party event on behalf of the entire Armed Forces community is a privilege we hold dear—but it comes with significant financial responsibility, as we fund it entirely ourselves and have done so since 1920. 

We haven’t reached out in this way before, but this year made it clear that many attendees assume the event is funded from elsewhere and many were staggered at what the Charity contributes to make such an event happen and offered to support us there and then. I wanted to clarify this—and I sensed that many of you, if aware, would be minded to support us in a similar manner. If you or your Association or organsiation can help—whether through a donation, a legacy, or simply by spreading the word—we would be deeply grateful. Every contribution helps us continue to deliver joy, connection, and recognition to those who have served, as we have for 105 years, and with your support we intend to continue for the generations to follow.

Thank you again for your service, your support, and for being part of something truly special and please do stay connected and we look forward to seeing some of  your veteran community who are registered with us at our full programme of events this year (https://thenotforgotten.org/events/). If you do wish to support, donate or develop ideas please reach out to either myself, [email protected] or [email protected]. If you don’t receive our newsletter and wish to subscribe, please do so here https://thenotforgotten.org/newsletter/ or chat to [email protected].

Thank you for being part of something so special and thank you for your support and service to those we all serve.

Richard Walker OBE

Chief Executive

Photo Credit: WW2 Better Withers meeting The Duchess of Gloucester