Celebrating Armed Forces Week 2026

At 48 years old, I was quite late to the party to join the Army Reserve. Maybe it was my midlife crisis, as the other options were either wearing double denim or getting a motorcycle! Once my wife had given her blessing (I didn’t marry a soldier!) I joined the 201 (N) Field Hospital, based in Fenham, Newcastle, in 2015. I remember my first night’s drill on how to polish my boots and iron my uniform. Brilliant! I had my physical, attended an officer selection camp at Westbury, and commissioned as an officer through Sandhurst in June 2016. Along with getting married, the birth of my children and qualifying as a doctor, that experience was one of the best I have known.

Over the next 10 years, I’ve actively attended the Tuesday night and weekend training. I now teach the skills I have been taught wrt being a soldier, being an officer and being a surgeon. This includes damage control surgery, medicine in remote, rural and hostile environments, the management of chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) injuries and surgical futility. I have facilitated joint training exercises between the NHS and the army that have been well received, including leadership courses that our own Chief Executives have presented at. I was deployed as a surgeon to the Middle East on Operation Shader in 2021 and was away from the NHS for 6 months. I received His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant award for loyal and meritorious service in March 2023. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the adventure training, including mountaineering, skiing and sailing opportunities that have come my way. When asked “what did you do this weekend?” inevitably I have had the most fun, I think.  We are now part of the 214 MMR (Multiple Medical Role) Regiment that covers the North East of England, and in July, we are off to Kenya for a deployment delivering primary care in remote areas and teaching medical skills to the Kenyan Defence Force.

Marion Dickson, one of our executive directors, on behalf of the trust, has attended the Remembrance Day parades, the presentation of my OP shader medal and the Lord Lieutenants award. The Trust has always been very supportive of what I do, and I can’t thank them enough.

I’m proud to serve and being a reservist, I get the best balance of Army and NHS, and as long as my wife lets me, I’ll continue.

My name is Jo Beynon, and I am a proud wife and mother to three children aged 19, 17, and 13. I work as a Mental Health Nurse and Specialist Psychological Therapist within the Community Specialist Psychology Team at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Supporting the Armed Forces community is important to me both professionally and personally. My husband served in the British Army for 22 years, and my grandfather served in the Durham Light Infantry during the Second World War. These connections have given me a deep appreciation of the sacrifices made not only by serving personnel and veterans, but also by their families. Giving back to those who have served feels both important and meaningful to me.

In my role, I work alongside people who have experienced complex trauma, and I have a particular interest in supporting veterans. Within Talking Therapies and the Specialist Psychology Team, veterans are offered priority access to care pathways in line with the NHS commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant. When people access our services, they are routinely asked whether they have served in the Armed Forces so that appropriate support can be offered as quickly as possible.

We recognise that mental health and wellbeing is influenced by many factors. Alongside therapeutic care available within Northumbria Healthcare, we work closely with a range of veteran-specific services and charities to help people access wider support when needed. This may include signposting or referring to services such as Op Courage, specialist NHS support for veterans' mental health, Walking With The Wounded, which provides support around employment, mental health and practical needs, and the Anxious Minds Veteran Recovery College, which offers opportunities for peer support, recovery, learning and social connection. Through these partnerships, veterans can access support with issues such as housing, benefits, employment, social engagement and longer-term therapeutic support where appropriate.

Throughout my NHS career, I have been grateful for the support I have received from the NHS, including flexible working arrangements that have helped me balance family life during deployments and manage childcare and family commitments. As a military spouse, I understand some of the unique challenges that military life can bring, and I value working for an organisation that recognises and supports Armed Forces families.

Northumbria Healthcare also supports a dedicated Veterans Working Group, which promotes good practice across the Trust and strengthens connections with veterans, reservists, military families and those accessing our services. This reflects the Trust's ongoing commitment to recognising and supporting the Armed Forces community.

From a personal perspective, my husband, Trev, served in the Royal Artillery from 1994 until 2016. Originally based locally with 132 Battery at Albemarle Barracks, he completed three operational tours of Northern Ireland and four tours of Afghanistan. By the time he left the military, he had achieved the rank of Warrant Officer. He was an exceptionally hardworking and dedicated soldier, and I remain incredibly proud of his service and achievements.

Like many service leavers, Trev faced the challenge of transitioning to civilian life. As part of his resettlement, he engaged with Barratt Homes' Military Leavers Programme, which recognises the valuable skills, experience and leadership qualities that veterans bring to civilian employment. Northumbria Healthcare shares that commitment through Veteran Aware accreditation and initiatives such as Step Into Health, helping members of the Armed Forces community access careers within the NHS.

Armed Forces Day provides an opportunity to recognise the contribution of serving personnel, veterans, reservists and military families. As part of Northumbria Healthcare, I am proud to work for an organisation that values the Armed Forces community and is committed to ensuring they receive the recognition, support and opportunities they deserve.

I have been in the Army Reserve back in 2011 when I was an F1 Doctor. I joined what was then 201 (Northern) Field Hospital, which is now 201 Squadron of 214 Multi-Role Medical Regiment. I’d been in the Army Cadet Force at school, and I joined, looking for an opportunity to fuse my interest in the military with my NHS career.

My job within the trust is as a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, which matches my deployable role within the Army reserve. While my trust role is based largely at NSECH, I could be asked to deliver my military role in anything from a small tented facility with 3 beds, providing damage control surgery, through to a much larger and more permanent field hospital further back from the front line, providing more definitive care.

Although I have not yet had the opportunity to deploy on Operations with the Army, I have been able to deploy on exercises and adventurous training to Gibraltar, the South of France, as well as numerous areas around the United Kingdom.

My army reserve role requires me to undertake 28 days a year reserve service, and the Trust, as a Gold Armed Forces Covenant employer, supports this with 14 days a year extra paid annual leave to allow me to meet this commitment.

I joined the NHS back in October 2024, 5 days after finishing a 20-year career in the RAF.

After completing my degree in International Politics and Strategic Studies, I joined the RAF to do Air & Space Operations. I spend much of my early career working up at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland, which is where I fell in love with the North East. Working with radars and managing airspace, I progressed through instructor roles and leadership positions. I was involved in a wide range of operations around the world and a lot of contingency planning as part of the Joint Force Air Component, which included deployments to the Falkland Islands and Iraq and involvement in Operations over Libya, Mali, the Black Sea and Sudan. I held a project management role with the Army before spending a few years in Colorado working for the United States Air Force in their Space Command. I then ran the operations squadron at RAF Fylingdales down in Yorkshire, which was focused on Missile Warning and Space Surveillance, before taking on a role that oversaw my whole profession, which was a very fulfilling job to finish my career.

I am a husband and dad to two awesome girls, which takes up most of my time. But I also find time to take on a range of volunteer roles. I am a Trustee of YMCA Northumberland and a Scout Leader, working with both Beavers and Cubs on a weekly basis at Backworth Hall. I am also an International Lacrosse Referee and have worked on-field at 5 World Championships and 2 Continental Qualifiers with domestic officiating experience in both the UK and US. I have been heavily involved in lacrosse committees, from National Governing Body level to local clubs, for over 13 years in roles that include chair, treasurer and secretary.

As a recent veteran, I am passionate about supporting the whole of the Armed Forces community, as it has been such a large part of my life, and many of my friends are still serving. I recently qualified Service Champion for the Armed Forces Network and want to do whatever I can to support our staff, their families and our patients who are linked to the Armed Forces community. I would like to drive engagement across the network and make sure all members of the community feel they can get something out of being a member. I’m always happy to pull up a sandbag and swap some stories over a brew.

Rebecca works at Northumbria Healthcare, having joined our trust in September 2023. She started working as a Registered Nurse in the HM Royal Army in 2014. Rebecca is currently undergoing study and training at a master’s level for Advanced Clinical Practice, specialising in Plastic Surgery.

Living and serving as a Staff Sergeant (SSGT) in many military hospital Units around the UK and a couple of years with the Paratroopers, originally from Wales and stationed all over the UK, Rebecca left active duty to pursue her career in plastic surgery as an ACP, having had vital experience working in many UK major trauma centres and specialising in theatres. She wished to continue her service in HM Forces in a reserve capacity and joined the 251 Medical Squadron, Army Reserves, based out of Sunderland.

Originally joining the military from a small town to experience travel and adventure, she found a home in the Army with friends and a team she can count on. With a keen interest in fitness, sports and travel, an Army career fit perfectly. Rebecca had several deployments, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Cyprus, along with experiences working within the Army and in partnership with local NHS healthcare providers. Her specialised Army experience included Operating Theatres, Critical Transfers, Working in Resuscitation and even made her way onto a Channel 4 Documentary.

Serving in HM Forces, Rebecca found a home in the North East, and her parents have relocated to the region. Keeping in touch with her friends and colleagues back home and in the reserve units, and very much with the regular Army she left behind.

Working for the reserves keeps her connected to the forces and provides an opportunity to train and travel, with protected and additional annual leave through the trust to do so.