News Article

Autumn Newsletter 2026

01 October 2026

From a flag flown over the Himalayas to a rickshaw that is crossing them, this year has seen our supporters going the extra mile — sometimes literally - for the charity. Here’s the latest news from SWV and what's coming up.

Where will the SWV flag go next?

Krishna (a 2026 Ski Week Veteran) took the SWV flag to Everest Base Camp, proudly displaying our flag as part of an expedition there.

Elsewhere in the Himalayas, James Mossman, one of this year’s Buddies, is raising money for SWV by driving a three-wheeled rickshaw over 1,000 miles through northern India and the Himalayas – crossing mountain passes above 16,000 feet and the northern Indian desert.

The SWV flag has now been from the Jungles of Peru (Katie Hislop, 2025 Buddy) to the Usbekistan Steppe (Steve Reynolds, 2017 Veteran). Where should the SWV flag go next? If you’re planning a challenge of your own to raise money for the charity, do let us know.

MDMA Trials Update

The Telegraph has published an article, highlighting the need for our MDMA-Assisted Therapy trial and the effect this treatment could have improving the lives of the veterans we support. The article interviews SWV Veteran Stuart Balfour to talk about how PTSD continues to affect his life and contrasts the experience of UK veterans with those in Australia, New Zealand and the United States who have had access to this therapy. You can read the article here.

Earlier in the year Sky News ran a segment on MDMA-Assisted Therapy - speaking to SWV Veteran Tom Swarbrick. You can view the film and interview with Gilly here.

Thank you to Cardew Group for their pro bono PR support with this project, and to Pillsbury Law for their ongoing pro bono legal support to the trial.

We are continuing to work with Cambridge to finalise details for the trial and hope that recruitment of participants will begin soon.

If you missed our talk on Psychedelic Research in April ( From Taboo to Treatment: New Frontiers in Psychedelic Therapy?) You can watch the recording here.

Rivers’ Forum & Rivers Task Force

This year's Rivers' Forum brought together farmers, water companies, politicians, veterans, scientists and veterans — to discuss the state of our rivers. A strong theme throughout was innovation: younger businesses are bringing new technology and private finance to bear on old problems, from "re-wiggling" rivers back to their natural course to campaigns for UNESCO status for Britain's deteriorating chalk streams, alongside novel testing methods such as eDNA sampling. Our thanks to everyone who joined us for another thought-provoking Forum. The Rivers Forum will return on the 11th and 12th May 2027.

Country Life recently featured SWV Veteran Phil Wright among eight stories on Britain's water crisis. Through SWV's Rivers' Forum, he found his way into river restoration and pollution monitoring — testing the River Dart as part of the Rivers' Task Force and is now working with the Western Sussex Rivers Trust. You can read the article here.

The Forum sits alongside our Veteran Rivers Task Force on the River Dart, an SWV initiative, supported by a grant from the Duchy of Cornwall. The Task Force brings wounded veterans into environmental work that supports their recovery whilst they learn new skills. The Task Force has now been working on the Dart for a few months, testing different river monitoring technologies at key places along the course of the river, while building connections with local landowners, farmers and communties.

RIVER CLEAN UP DAYS – Thank You

SWV Goldman Sachs have proved themselves to be very eager to join the rivers clean up and find out about the work of SWV. It is a pleasure to have them on the river with us.

Big Yellow, as always, have fantastic teams of people coming to find out about the river. They learn in a very practical way just how much 'stuff' is thrown into a River.

Thank you to both Goldman Sachs and Big Yellow who have done the last Rivers clean up. If your company is interesting in Rivers Clean up and meeting the veterans working on the Rivers get in touch with Johnny Scott Barber

Ski Week 2027: Buddies & Fundraising

The team of 20 Ski Buddies for 2027 has been selected, ready to support 25 veterans in Klosters next March. Every year, every buddy begs to come back again, but we only take three to become the returning buddies for the following year and help Bart coordinate the team. Charlie Balfour-Poole, Aurelia Aslangul and Peter White have been selected as returning buddies, the other buddies who have seen the work first hand join an ever growing group of enthusiastic supporters.

Buddy fundraising has got off to an excellent start. As well as James Mossman's exploits in the Himalayas, returning buddy Charlie held the first buddy fundraising event for 2027. Her quiz night raised over £6000 for the charity and so far the buddies have raised over £30,000!

We are already preparing for the Winter Challenge 2027 with several teams already signed up to take part. At a briefing session for potential teams 2026 veteran Jimmy Hill spoke about his experiences post service and how he came to SWV. If you or your company would like to take part in the Winter Challenge 2027 please contact Johnny Scott Barber.

Other fundraising highlights this summer have included Andy Geoghegan once again completing several marathon swims - over 300 miles in total - including the epic Triple Crown Chill Swim - the 3 Great Lakes in the North of England - the full length of Windermere, Ullswater and Coniston. So far this year Andy has raised over £13,000

Our thanks to Nick Ross for his excellent Art history lecture in April - From Geghis Khan to the age of Democracy. He also kindly led a wonderful fundraising walk looking at Wren churches in the City and hope he will return for future events.

Finally, Michael Fitzroy, once again ran a hugely successful Cricket Day for SWV.

Thank you to everyone who has fundraised, hosted or taken part in an SWV event over the past few months. We hope the above gives you a small snap shot of the dividend your efforts deliver.

Big Yellow Work Placements – Helping Veterans Back Into the Workplace

This year, our valued supporter Big Yellow Self Storage generously offered work placements to SWV veterans, giving them the opportunity to experience life back in the civilian workplace in a supportive environment.

The placements, based in Big Yellow stores, focus on customer service and store support, including shadowing the team, supporting customers, administration and day-to-day store operations.

Following applications from a number of our veterans, three veterans from our 2015, 2019 and 2026 cohorts were offered placements in Liverpool, Manchester and Southend-on-Sea, with the Southend store able to accommodate a wheelchair user and assistance dog.

Our OTE team has remained in contact with the veterans and stores throughout, and the feedback has been extremely positive:

“I never thought I would find a job that suited my life as it is – and after nine years unemployed I have. It is fantastic, I am employed!”

“I actually really enjoyed it! The guys I work with are all lovely, the hours are perfect and, for some reason, work well with my life. So, all in all, I’m very happy – this is just what I needed!”

“Yeah, it was really good. I’m really enjoying it. The job is simple enough for me and the hours work for my life – and the team I work with are all lovely people.”

“Had a really great day. Just home, all very tired, but looking forward to Friday.”

These placements demonstrate just how valuable the right opportunity, in the right environment, can be for a veteran rebuilding their confidence and finding a way back into civilian employment.

A huge thank you to Big Yellow and its store teams for creating these opportunities and for the support and encouragement they have given our veterans.

SWV Outward Bound in the Peak District

SWV ran a new event this September - the Peak District Challenge - giving veterans the opportunity to experience rock climbing and hillwalking in the beautiful surroundings of the Hope Valley. The event was run with support from Climb2Recovery giving veteran a chance to rebuild confidence, resilience and physical capability. As with the Ski Week, each veteran is supported onto the SWV programmes best suited to their needs, including pain management, mental health support, mentoring, or employment assistance.