Combat Stress Festival of Lessons and Carols 2022

Last night (Wednesday 14 December), we held our annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. This years’ service was kindly hosted by The Royal Military Chapel, at Wellington Barracks, the beautiful spiritual home of the Household Division. 

The service began at 7pm and, despite the weather and train strikes making some journeys very challenging, took place in front of a large congregation.

A host of carols, led by the brilliant chapel choir, helped us all embrace the festive spirit, and were interspersed with readings from some of our supporters including:

• ​​​​​​​The Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP (Minister of Veterans’ Affairs),
• Stephen Dixon (GB News Presenter),
• Lt Col James Shaw, (Commanding Officer, London Central Garrison, Wellington Barracks)
• Paul Dixon, (Veteran and member of our National Veterans’ Voice Group)
• Mickey Morrissey (Former Honorary Treasurer of Combat Stress)
• Oliver Waghorn, (Managing Director of Government Relations, Strategy & Business Winning, BAE Systems)

After the service, everyone was invited to the drinks reception at the Officer’s Mess, which commenced with a speech from our Chairman, Giles Peel, reflecting on the year to date for the charity.

Thank you to everyone who joined us (in-person or online) for our carol service, and thank you to our Headline Sponsor, BAE Systems and our Hospitality Sponsor, Fidelity International, without whom this event would not have been possible.