The day was conceived due to a desire to include armed forces members who are still serving their country into the Veterans Day celebrations.  This idea was supported by a petition on the Number10 website, which led to the very first Armed Forces Day on 27th June 2009.

The decision to hold the event meant a lot of work had to be put in to make the day a success.  Local authorities, towns and cities were told about the idea and invited to bid to host the event.

When the organisers went on line to set up a Facebook group they found that a fan page had already been set up and that it already had 15,000 people following.  By the time the event took place the number of fans following had risen to 100,000.

A special flag was designed for the day which could be purchased from the official website where lots of free materials including banners and badges for websites can be found. Four of the Royal Horticultural Society Gardens recreated the flag as a floral display.  Some of the plants used in the display even had military names.  The society even linked up with the Sun to produce a design that could be downloaded and planted out by anyone.

The careful planning led to a successful national event which was held at Chatham Docks and was supported by more than 200 events around the country.  Military bands, display teams, schools and military stations were sent information in the hopes that they would take part.  Events were not limited to the United Kingdom.  Some far flung locations such as Cyprus, Afghanistan, Iraq and Brunei also marked the event.

The team have set themselves a challenge for future events.  They hope to increase the appeal of the celebration to the  14-25 year age group.

It has now been confirmed that Cardiff will be hosting next year’s event on 26th June 2010:

The announcement was marked with the RAF Falcons Parachute Display team handing the Lord Mayor of Cardiff the 2010 Armed Forces Day Flag. Lord Mayor, Cllr Brian Griffiths, said:

It’s an honour and a privilege for Cardiff to be the host city of the 2010 Armed Forces Day. Hosting next year’s event gives Cardiff and the whole of Wales the opportunity to pledge our support to the brave men and women who not only served our country in the past but continue to do so today.

Wales has a very strong military history with Cardiff housing the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Welsh at Maindy Barracks. Plans have already begun to make next year’s event something of which both Wales and the UK can be justly proud.”

• Official website

• Facebook group

• Twitter page

Info from DefenceFocus issue #233 August 2009 and the Armed Forces Day official website

Admiral Sir Ian Garnett KCB, Chairman of the Chatham Historic Dockland Trust, said:

It is both an honour and a privilege for The Historic Dockyard Chatham, in the heart of Medway, Kent, to be the venue for the UK’s first National Armed Forces Day. With over 400 years of military history, we are looking forward to arranging a family event that will recognise the many achievements of today’s Armed Forces and veterans.