The Black Rat Fund

What is the purpose of the Black Rat Fund?

The Black Rat Fund is the welfare fund of

4th Mechanized Brigade.

The stated object of the fund is:

The promotion of 4th Mechanized Brigade by the provision of social and welfare support and other facilities for the efficiency and well being of Servicemen and Servicewomen and their immediate family, and to alleviate need, suffering and distress for Servicemen and Servicewomen and their immediate family by providing charitable assistance.

The fund is not designed to pay for facilities which should be provided from public funds, nor activities which should rightly be the concern of the Regiments, Units, Messes and Clubs that form 4th Mechanized Brigade. 

Where possible, and when appropriate the Fund will support pan Brigade sporting events, but due to the nature of the fund, applications for Adventure Training activities will not normally be funded.

Please note that during the Brigade's deployment to Afghanistan in 2010 our prime focus will be to provide support to the soldiers and families of 4th Mechanized Brigade who require our help in any way.

How are we helping the Black Rats?

We cannot publish any details about the personal support or grants we give to individuals or families as this is strictly confidential.  This is where the majority of the funds we raise are spent. 

However, we can tell you about some of the public projects that the Black Rat Fund has introduced, or that we are supporting...

Projects that help our injured servicemen and servicewomen

Clothing for our injured soldiers to wear at Hedley Court during rehabilitation

Sometimes it is the small things that make a massive difference to morale and the will to recover for our injured.  After consulting with 4th Mechanized Brigade's Liaison Officer at Hedley Court The Black Rat Fund has agreed to do what seems like a small and insignificant thing, but which we know will go a massive way to building a positive team spirit in our men and women who are going through rehabilitation together.

We have agreed that we will provide to every soldier from the Black Rats that attends Hedley Court a set of clothing that they can wear during their rehabilitation sessions and exercise classes.  Each soldier will be able to pick five items from a range of tee-shirts, polo shirts and sleeveless tops, allowing them to have clothing that does not restrict their movement when upper body injuries are an issue, and which is suited to their own individual needs. 

Each of the items will be printed with the Brigade emblem - and will also feature a team motto which the soldiers have themselves come up with.  The men feel that having clothing that is of a uniform nature will help them reinforce their team spirit - and really boost that "band of brothers" ethos that the armed forces are renowned for.  This kind of positive bonding will, in the opinion of the medical teams, really help motivate and improve the recovery times for those that have suffered injuries as a result of their operational tour of Aghanistan.

As one soldier who was previously injured explained, "I remember when I was injured and was back in the UK and away from my mates my CO came visiting and gave me a mug.  It was about 8 years ago.  I still have that mug in my cupboard today, and I wouldn't part with it for all the world because it showed me that someone cared about what had happened to me." 

He continued, "Now I'm helping injured soliders myself, and I know that it's the small things - things that sometimes seem stupid to an outsider - that make the biggest impact on your morale."

We are delighted if this small gesture makes a difference, and hope that all the soldiers of 4th Mechanized Brigade who stay at Hedley Court will enjoy wearing them.

Partnership with Q4IS (Quilts for Injured Troops) at Hedley Court

This project is a partnership between The Black Rat Fund and Q4IS.  Q4IS have been making individual quilts for injured soldiers who pass through Hedley Court for over a year.  Each soldier who is resident and treated at Hedley Court is visited and asked about the particular design that he or she would like the quilt to have, making the final quilt a very personal and treasured item.

The Black Rat Fund, at the suggestion of Brigadier Richard Felton, wanted to let all the members of 4th Mechanized Brigade who go to Hedley Court know that their sacrifices are never overlooked and that we are there for them whenever they need our support.  To this end we have commissioned a special embroidered patch which commemorates the soldier's involvement in the mission in Afghanistan during 2010, and their time with the brigade as part of Task Force Helmand.  The patches will be provided to the team at Q4IS, who will then incorporate them into each quilt design.

An illustration of the commemorative patch can be seen here (left).  The patch features the motto of the Black Rats - "Achieve the Mission - Protect the Force"

Hedley Court is an inpatient care facility split between two wards offering 66 inpatient beds to injured service personnel from all service disciplines under going rehabilitation at DMRC Headley Court.

The wards offer 20 neurological inpatient beds for patients of varying levels of dependency following Acquired Brain injury, spinal cord injury, and other neurological disease.  A further 46 beds are available for poly trauma and medical patients. The ward houses individuals requiring any physical and/or psychological nursing support due to their injuries or pre-existing medical conditions, and offers assistance to those individuals who are unable to manage independently in mess accommodation due to the nature of their medical needs and abilities.

Further information about the work of Q4IS can be found at the links below:

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Quilt-makers-comfort-heroes/article-2363159-detail/article.html

http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/pride-in-harborough/Brenda-Lincoln-quiltmaker-for-injured.6068797.jp

Projects that help the families here at Catterick Garrison

Catterick Garrison WAGs Choir

This project draws together wives and children from 4 Mechanized Brigade, and indeed some from the wider Garrison, into a community based project aimed at creating stronger ties within the Brigade and providing another level of support to the families of deployed servicemen.

For more information about the WAGs Choir, including details of how you can get involved, please click the link below.

More Information

More Information