Meet the Mancunian - Talking supporting veterans with Claire Squires

MtM-5.9-Claire Squires-transcript

Intro

Welcome to the fifth season of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, social impact stories from Manchester. I'm Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe, your friendly host. It's a privilege and a pleasure for me to interview some of the most inspiring people working in Manchester's social impact sector and feature them on this podcast.

My guests are leaders and worker bees associated as employees, trustees, and volunteers with social enterprises, non-profits, and community groups. They share their life stories and passions with you, dear listener. My aim through this podcast is to inspire you and share a bit of good news.

My guests tackle serious concerns in Manchester but many of these are also universal themes resonating in many parts of the globe. All my guests talk about the power of collaboration and how together we are stronger. They, of course, expand on their pride in Manchester and Mancunians as well.

I hope you enjoy listening to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Google, or any of your favourite podcasting platforms. You can also listen to the podcast episodes and read the transcripts on my website www.meetthemancunian.co.uk.

If you are a new listener, you can log on to www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to listen to the first four seasons of the podcast, and read more about my podcasting story. If you are a returning listener, welcome back. Thank you for your support.

Welcome to the ninth episode of the Meet the Mancunian podcast, season five.

Passionate about supporting veterans? We hear from Claire Squires, founder, Trafford Veterans in this episode. This episode is dedicated to my father, Commander Mani Thomas, (retired) who served in the Indian Navy for many years. 

Episode 9

[00:00:00] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'm delighted to introduce my guest, Claire Squires, founder, Trafford Veterans. Claire, thanks so much for taking the time on a weekend.

[00:00:09] Claire Squires: Thank you. Thanks for allowing us to come on.

[00:00:11] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: So tell us first about your finding your passion to support veterans. I know you have your own experience there and tell us a little bit about that.

[00:00:20] Claire Squires: Yeah, I joined the Royal Navy Reserves at the age of 17. And then in my early twenties I joined it full-time and went to the Royal Navy.

[00:00:28] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And how did that bring about that passion for supporting veterans?

[00:00:33] Claire Squires: Well, I became a veteran once I left. So lived experience. I moved into an area where there was very little in the way of support. Especially for the Navy. You know, a lot tend to settle around ports within in Plymouth and I live in Manchester, so there's not many Navy bases up and around there, so there's not many of us.

[00:00:52] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Interestingly, my father was in the Indian Navy and so we've been, and my grandfather was in the Army. So we've been defence children. We call it defence in India.

[00:01:02] Claire Squires: Oh, okay.

[00:01:03] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: How did you get involved with Trafford Veterans? You talked about not having a support base for the Royal Navy here because it's not near a port. Is that what started your passion?

[00:01:14] Claire Squires: Well, there wasn't. Okay, you've got the big military charities, but they didn't really deliver anything locally. And the British Legions used to have the clubs, but they've slowly but surely closed down.

So what do you do? Where do you go? Where are all the veterans? You know, you miss that peer support of being with like-minded people. So we decided to set up a group ourselves to provide that support.

[00:01:37] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And tell us more about Trafford Veterans

[00:01:40] Claire Squires: We've got a team of people from the community, people who served in the emergency services and the armed forces, and we put on a number of peer support activities. We've got a monthly breakfast event, a weekly model making and craft group, an allotment project.

We've got a hub over at Sale. We do a warm room. We've got a 17-seater mini bus for trips. And basically, it started off very small but it's grown over the years. We're almost eight years old. We've basically encouraged people to share the hobbies and skills and come together and help run the groups, and it's worked really, really well.

[00:02:17] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And, that warm room, what is it? Because it sounded very intriguing.

[00:02:22] Claire Squires: The warm room. It's just, with the price of the utilities going up, we've been encouraged to open a warm room. So, people can come along to us on a Friday. We provide a hot meal, hot drinks. They can charge up the phones, watch telly, be with us, for a couple of hours, put the heating on, things like that.

[00:02:40] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is really nice. And that's just out of this cost-of-living crisis. Was it a recent introduction?

Very thoughtful and tell us about some challenges you may have faced and had to overcome. You've been around for eight years and I'm sure there have been some difficult times during this time.

[00:02:57] Claire Squires: Yeah. I mean, it is. We've got a saying in our organisation that we're very good at pulling rabbits out of hats. You know, funding is a challenge. Fundraising. Just keeping things going, you have to juggle constantly. We're not actually seen as a community. There's a large veteran community within the borough where I live, but we're not actually recognised as a community, if that makes sense. So that's been a challenge.

[00:03:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And how do you overcome these challenges? Because you talked about funding and also being recognised as a group or as a group with an identity.

[00:03:31] Claire Squires: Well, we just go out and do it. We find a way, we've got determination. We've got a great bunch of volunteers that help with things. We've been very creative and very different. A lot of groups are all kind of fighting over the same pots of funding. We've managed to do things differently through business sponsors and being really careful with our money that we do have.

[00:03:51] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: What impact would you say you've made through Trafford Veterans?

[00:03:55] Claire Squires: Huge impact? I've actually been told that the take up on people in Trafford accessing mental health services is lower. So, we're obviously doing something, you know, social prescribing. We're actually meeting targets, making a difference to people, we're tackling social isolation.

A lot of elderly especially during the lockdowns, we went out to support these people who were, in their own homes. Some didn't have any family nearby. We were providing outreach to them, which was a lifeline to some.

[00:04:27] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Of course. And, what's the age group of these veterans?

[00:04:32] Claire Squires: Well, we're varied. People say veteran, and you always think of the old boys from World War II. You're actually a veteran if you've served. The government definition is you're a veteran if you've served and drawn one day's pay. So, I think our youngest is about 25 and our eldest is 102.

[00:04:51] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Wow. It's quite a range.

[00:04:55] Claire Squires: So, at the breakfast event all different age ranges mixing, all different services, sharing the stories, just that friendship and the camaraderie in the banter that you miss being in the force, that's what it gives.

[00:05:07] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: We have clubs back home, again, service clubs, which are really nice and it's just nice to see the parents kind of interacting with their colleagues and remembering the days.

[00:05:20] Claire Squires: Yeah, yeah.

[00:05:22] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's always nice. How can interested people reach out to you and learn more? Where can they find your website? Where can they find you on social media?

[00:05:29] Claire Squires: We're all over social media, to be honest. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Each of our activities has its own Facebook page. Because there's different people that access the different groups, it's very important that people see what we're doing.

So, you can see what they've made at the craft group. You can see updates at the allotment . When we've been on a trip, you can see some updates from that. The breakfast, you can see what we've done that day. We've also got a website. So, if you google Trafford Veterans.org, it, you know, it should come up. We are registered on Google as well, so it should be easily found.

[00:06:06] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you, and I always link the website to the episode notes so people can find out more.

What advice would you have for people looking to start a similar movement in another part of the world, maybe to support veterans or in another part of the UK? How could they get started?

[00:06:24] Claire Squires: Well, the first thing is just look at what you want to do and not to get disheartened, because there are a lot of groups throughout the UK, there are a lot of military charities. So, you know, competition is great for the funding. So have a look at what you want to do. But the main thing is, keep focused and don't give up.

There's always a way to do something. That's how we've got by. We've been creative, we've worked with community groups. You know, you can't do everything on your own. It's important that you network, and you link in with other people within the area where you are.

So, we are really lucky. We've got some great links within Trafford. So, we've linked up with the local hubs.There was a series of emergency hubs, that were born out of Covid. And they were places in the borough that people could go to for support. So, we are linking with them.

[00:07:14] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Yeah, I think so. And I think this thing about, doing things together and kind of cooperating and collaborating and partnering so that you can serve more people together.

[00:07:25] Claire Squires: Yeah, absolutely. And if we don't know something, they might, so it's good to share your expertise and your skills. More often than not, they're referring to us and we've got an idea who to refer into for specialist support. You know, for like employment or mental health or how to get a veteran's badge or how to get your service records.

We also do a lot of funerals as well, which give a little bit of a military touch. You know, we buy regimental flags and provide a guard of honour and sometimes have standard bearers and buglers and things. So, we can do that as well.

[00:07:58] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Thank you for sharing that. So do you also support employment opportunities for veterans going back to work?

[00:08:05] Claire Squires: We can do, but, it's not our job. There are certain organisations that are set up for that already, you know, like the Forces Employment Charity, so we'd know how to refer into them. They've got the funding and the links and the expertise. We also work closely with the DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] so they just really link into us for that peer support, the wraparound support that person needs to keep them on a level.

[00:08:29] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Sure.

An opportunity, Claire, for you to talk about anything I haven't asked you about. Maybe something coming up over the next few months. But if you wanted to give a shout out to anything you're looking forward to or if you want support from volunteers on anything, you could talk about that as well.

[00:08:46] Claire Squires: Well, our breakfast club in April is a nod to the police because Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was formed. Obviously, there was Manchester and Salford Police way before that, but on the 1st of April, GMP was formed. So, with our breakfast being the 15th, we thought we'd just do a little police event. We've got some historic police vehicles come in and we've invited the police themselves. We've got the police museum bringing a display down as well, so it just makes it different.

[00:09:16] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Sounds very interesting. Anything else you want to call out?

[00:09:21] Claire Squires: We do a monthly newsletter, which goes out at the end of each month. You can find those on the website. If people would like to get in touch with us you know, our email address is info@ traffordveterans.org.

[00:09:34] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And are there any particular kind of volunteers you're looking for, or did they tend to come from within the service community?

[00:09:41] Claire Squires: No, we get members of the local community coming in as well, and that works really well because, people have to integrate, you know, so it's not just for the veterans. We invite the families in, and members of the community come in because they like the atmosphere and they like the event. And that's very, very good for the veterans to settle back into the community.

There's no point just putting on a breakfast event and saying, if you haven't served, you're not coming in. Because that then creates a silo and isolates people. So, we tend not to do that. And, I think that's why our activities work really well, because we have a different range of people at each activity.

[00:10:20] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That does sound really interesting, and I like the fact that you're integrating the local community and thank you for sharing that.

I'll now ask you my signature questions that I ask all my guests. The first one is to describe the Mancunian spirit in a word or a phrase.

[00:10:36] Claire Squires: Mancunian, obviously proud of my roots being born in Greater Manchester. Well, born in Bolton actually. There's something about Manchester that just makes you proud of your city. There's a lot to offer here. It is very diverse. There's basically something for everybody.

[00:10:57] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think that's nice. Proud of the roots. Proud of the city. That's nice.

[00:11:01] Claire Squires: It's just a very, very busy city, isn't it? Like I said, there's something for everybody. Something to suit all. It's very diverse. There's always something to learn. There's lots of different communities that you can learn from. So proud to be a Mancunian.

[00:11:16] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: As a new Mancunian, I echo what you're saying and absolutely, am experiencing some of that myself.

[00:11:23] Claire Squires: Welcome. We're very nice up north.

[00:11:26] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Very, very friendly.

Can you share a Mancunian who inspires you and why? And this could be somebody from the past or somebody from the present.

[00:11:35] Claire Squires: It'd have to be a family member of mine actually. But he was Lancashire, back in the day when the borders were different. My great-grandfather served in World War I. In between the wars, he founded what was called the DCM League, so the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which he was awarded. And he was also awarded the Military Cross. And what he did was, he helped soldiers in between the wars, get jobs, find houses, provided food if need be, and he set up the what's called the DCM League, which today is called the Gallantry Medal League.

So, I was I think I was three and I did meet him. I do remember him, and he was 86 when he passed away. But, I got to meet him. And he inspires me because I think we've carried on with the work that he did back then.

[00:12:28] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That is an amazing tribute to your grandfather because you are doing in a very similar line, maybe not on the employment front, but on support front, doing exactly what your grandfather was doing so many years ago. That's amazing.

[00:12:42] Claire Squires: Well, his name was Robert Moise and he served in the Lancashire Fusiliers, and then he was seconded to the Essex Regiment. But his history is online and, and if you look at the Gallantry Medal League website, he was the founder.

[00:12:57] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I'll definitely look it up.

[00:12:59] Claire Squires: Interesting man.

[00:13:01] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Of course, and someone to be very proud of.

What's the most important life lesson you've learned so far?

[00:13:08] Claire Squires: Children. Becoming a mum. You know, one minute I was in the Gulf on an aircraft carrier with a career. And then I got married and then my daughter was on her way and life changes very, very quickly. But just, you know, that feeling of love when you hold a little person Yeah, just life's very precious.

[00:13:31] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That's true. I mean, one of my guests recently, they work with terminally ill adults granting wishes, and she talked about life being so short that you shouldn't be holding grudges.

[00:13:43] Claire Squires: Well just, you know, live your life. Enjoy it. I mean recently we've lost a few of our World War II veterans who, one was 101 and one was a hundred, and we got to know them and we loved them, but it was, it's inevitable that we lose them. But when we do, it was just such a shock and quite sad.

But it was a pleasure to actually meet them and share stories with them and be in the company, so just take care of the people around you. Talk to people because you never know when it's going to be your last time to speak to them.

[00:14:15] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Yeah, and I think the pandemic caused that to come to this front and centre for many of us, right?

[00:14:22] Claire Squires: It did. I tell you what, the pandemic basically highlighted who was quite selfish and who were the ones that were willing to give the right arm to help people. We saw a lot of jostling.

And, we had a phone call from one of our 90 year old veterans who'd been to Sainsbury's to get some milk and bread. And she was so upset because she'd been pushed about a little bit. Because everyone was panic buying. You could see it.

There was a video online that somebody posted about a lady in a shop, and she was, there was nothing on the shelves. And she was just stood there, and people were like pushing past her. You know, this, there was an element of everyone out for themselves that we saw, and we didn't like that.

[00:15:03] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: No, you're right.

[00:15:05] Claire Squires: But it brought some really good things to the fore because you knew then, who's the good people and who were not so good .

[00:15:11] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: No, I can understand that and that ‘me first’ culture is never helpful. Is it?

[00:15:17] Claire Squires: No, no.

[00:15:18] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Who's going to be there for you if you're not standing up for anyone?

[00:15:22] Claire Squires: Yeah.

[00:15:23] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Okay.

On that note, if, if you could have one superpower, what would it be?

[00:15:29] Claire Squires: Ooh, that's a good question. Superpower. I'd love to be able to fly because you can swim, can't you? You can swim, but you can't fly. That would be great. Obviously save on fuel costs.

[00:15:41] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: It's a very popular one with many of my guests. I think it's one of those secret things that all of us wish at some point in time.

[00:15:49] Claire Squires: Oh yeah, that would be great.

[00:15:51] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: I think mine would be to talk to dogs or to…

[00:15:54] Claire Squires: Oh, really?

[00:15:54] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: …all animals. Yeah. I'd love to be able to talk and understand what they have to say because I'm sure they have very interesting perspectives.

[00:16:03] Claire Squires: Yeah. Have you seen the film, Dr. Doolittle?

[00:16:06] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Yes.

[00:16:07] Claire Squires: Be like that, that'd be.

[00:16:09] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That would be quite a fun one.

Is there a funny story you'd like to share with listeners today? Something at work, something in Manchester.

[00:16:18] Claire Squires: Obviously I've got stories from the Navy, but I can't always say. I need to think about that.

[00:16:24] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Maybe something about one of your veterans who are in the nineties and hundreds. It can be a nice story. It doesn't have to be funny, funny.

[00:16:33] Claire Squires: We've got lots of nice. I mean, we give them birthday cakes at the breakfast events and they just don't expect it at all. And it's lovely to just sing to them because they are like kids. I'm so pleased, oh, it's my birthday.

[00:16:45] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: Yeah, I went for my 99-year-old neighbour's birthday last year. And you know, besides the little party in the garden which his son had thrown for him, he also got him an ice cream van. So, you could go and get ice cream from the ice cream van. Like you said, it's childlike, those beautiful memories that you can create.

[00:17:03] Claire Squires: Well, during the lockdown we had one of our veterans turn a hundred and 101, but obviously, you couldn't really celebrate it. But when he was a hundred, we had a local DJ set up in the street and we got Peter to make this amazing cake for him. And we went and delivered it and it, we left the cake on the gatepost for him, and the DJ was in the street, and he was singing, and we sung Happy Birthday, and all the neighbours came out.

So we had a little party, but everyone was in the gardens all waving to each other, you know? That was really nice, that.

[00:17:33] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: That does sound like a very nice community feel. What a lovely way to celebrate in a lockdown.

[00:17:39] Claire Squires: Yeah. And it was done safely, which, you know, we…

[00:17:42] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: …social distancing like we learned.

[00:17:44] Claire Squires: The rules there.

[00:17:45] Deepa Thomas-Sutcliffe: And those rules were required at the time, so absolutely.

Claire, it was really lovely to talk to you.

[00:17:51] Claire Squires: Well, thank you very much for having me on the podcast. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Outro

Claire, I really enjoyed learning about supporting veterans today.

Dear listener, thank you for listening to the ninth episode of season five of the Meet the Mancunian Podcast, social impact stories from Manchester.

I hope you enjoyed it. And it motivates you to follow your own dreams and passions. Please do consider visiting the website, www.meetthemancunian.co.uk to leave me some feedback or suggestions on what causes resonated with you or ones that you would like to see featured here. I really welcome listener feedback and will do my best to incorporate your suggestions in future episodes.

Next week, the Meet the Mancunian podcast talks to Liz Hebbard about supporting refugees. Tune in on Tuesday 20 June 2023 to hear the next episode.

You can follow the podcast on social media as @Meet the Mancunian on Instagram or Facebook or as @MancunianPod on Twitter. It would be lovely if you can share or leave a comment. Please do also consider introducing this podcast to a friend or a family member.

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Thank you so much.