Latest News

Our confidential and professional medical welfare service is now in place in Herefordshire and Nottinghamshire and we are looking forward to delivering our service in partnership with the two councils. Read more

Official launch of the Armed Forces Healthcare Navigator Service to support members of the Armed Forces community to access care and support in Birmingham. Read more

In a joint project with EFAN, DMWS organised a new war memorial at Salford Royal to commemorate the night that the hospital suffered fatalities during the Manchester Blitz of Christmas 1940. Read more

DMWS has been re-awarded the MoD Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award for our exceptional support to the Armed Forces community. Being recognised for our work is a real honour. Read more

DMWS has extended their person-centred medical welfare service to military veterans. Read how Welfare Officer Karen Daniels has supported 96 year old WW2 Veteran Paddy and connected him to a community he feels understood and safe in. Read more

DMWS is delighted to have been elected to the Confederation of Service Charities (Cobseo) Executive alongside War Widows Association and the Poppy Factory. The results were announced during the Cobseo Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 11 July 2017. Read more

Yesterday, DMWS Chairman Allan Thomson and Deputy Chairman Mr Steve Cowden met Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex, GCVO at Buckingham Palace. The meeting forms the initial visit by Allan Thomson, our newly appointed chairman (1 March 2017) to meet HRH in her capacity as DMWS’s Royal Patron... Read more

On 28 June 2017, the SSAFA run Norton House – Selly Oak closed its doors to new guests, after being a safe haven for families of injured Armed Forces Personnel over the past 8 years. Welfare Officers from the Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) were invited to the closing ceremony, having worked... Read more

The Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) organised for the wife of a 97 year old veteran to make a surprise visit to him in a Manchester hospital to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary. Read more

DMWS is extremely proud of our CEO Nicky Murdoch, who has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours for service to the Armed Forces Community and their families. Read more

DMWS Welfare Officers are providing are supporting victims and front-line staff who are affected by the tragic Manchester bombing attack. We are here to offer practical help and emotional support where it is needed. Read more

Author of the fantasy genre working The Forgotten Legacies series has been supporting DMWS for several years. In addition to her own books, she participates in books for charity, an opportunity she says, she “was thrilled to accept.” It is my aim for each one of my titles to donat... Read more

On May 16, together with Lord Smith of Kelvin KT CH (on behalf or Baroness Emerton DBE DL), the Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) hosted a reception in the House of Lords to update key peers from Defence, Health and Policing about the organisation. In the Role of Royal Patron of DMWS Her Royal... Read more

The Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) is one of 10 organisations to receive funding from the Aged Veterans Fund to deliver health and wellbeing services to aged veterans, their families and carers in Herefordshire and Nottinghamshire. Read more

According to Sir James Lawrence Munby, President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales the practice of separating elderly couples against their wishes when one or both move to care homes must end (The Times, 10 May 2017). To help the aged veteran community DMWS has launched n... Read more

Our 2016 Impact Report showcases the work, commitment and outstanding results of DMWS. Case studies demonstrate how we continue to make a real difference to individuals by providing a professional welfare service, ensuring that no family goes through the worry of injury or illness alone. By gatheri... Read more

The Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) is delighted to be part of Unforgotten Forces, a collaboration of 14 key organisations, led by Poppyscotland, who has been awarded £4 million from the Aged Veterans Fund to undertake a three-year programme of support for older veterans and their families i... Read more

When 77 year old Army veteran George met DMWS Welfare at Salford Royal Hospital during his treatment for terminal lung disease, he told her that he didn’t feel he needed DMWS’s help. However, during their conversation he reminisced about his 25 years of proud army service and his wartime childhood... Read more

DMWS’s affiliation with the Armed Forces Community recognised with a visit from The Chief of the General Staff, HRH The Countess of Wessex and The Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire to the Charity’s Headquarters in Andover. Read more

Today, the unveiling of a new memorial in Victoria Embankment Gardens, Westminster by Her Majesty The Queen, honours both the UK Armed Forces and civilians who served their country in the Gulf region from 1990 – 2015. DMWS Welfare Officers were invited to the event, in recognition to the huge role... Read more

Rick has been living rough on the streets of Manchester and regrets not having any photos from his time in Service. But with the help of the E-Fan Project Rick is now getting his life back on track and even met up with his best mate from the Army. Read more

The Defence Medical Welfare Service is delighted to announce that Brigadier (Ret’d) Allan Thomson MSc MBA FIET CEng has taken over as the Chairman of Trustees from Major General (Ret’d) John Stokoe CB CBE, on 1.3.2017. Read more

THOSE she has helped have faced combat and have often paid the price with horrific injuries and mental health problems. Read more

More than 20 organisations attended the Police Charities UK launch, including the Defence Medical Welfare Service, signalling their commitment to work in partnership and share best practice to provide the best support possible to the wider policing ‘family.’ Read more

DMWS is proud of our welfare officers Tom and Tim who recently received fantastic feedback from a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Oldham Hospital, part of The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The email below really highlights how our service does not only supports the patient and the... Read more

The British Community in SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) based in Brussels, Belgium have brought the world of traditional Pantomime to this truly international audience. According to Lt Col Gary Brooks “Panto, an eccentric and typically British tradition – as much as&... Read more

For the Defence Medical Welfare Service the New Year started with a prestigious visit from HER Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson on 10 January 2017. It was a great opportunity for the Hampshire-based charity to update the Lord-Lieutenant on the charity’s significant contributi... Read more

Thank you for making 2016 a very special year for DMWS. We would like to thank all our partner organisations, patrons and trustees, our fundraisers and staff for your hard work, time and support this year which has brought rewards many and varied. Read more

The Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) is excited to announce the official launch of a Police Medical Welfare Support Service, available to Police Officers, staff or family members of Hampshire Constabulary. The service is independent and complements the welfare support currently offered by the... Read more

Rick, an ex-Lancaster fusilier, has got a lot to celebrate this week… when DMWS Welfare Officer Isaak Smith met Rick for the first time, Rick was homeless and sleeping rough in a Manchester Park. His benefits had been suspended and he found himself with no money. Worse, he was suffering with anxiet... Read more