Hero

100 year old WWII veteran William ‘Bill’ Gladden, who flew into Normandy on D-Day, died at home in Haverhill on 24 April. William ‘Bill’ Gladden was born on the 13 January 1924. His parents were both from Yarmouth in Norfolk, but they raised him in Woolwich; his mother having worked in the Arsenal during the…

Tom Schaffer, from Mill Hill, who was affectionately known as the poster boy of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans died on 16 March, he was 97. Tom was a regular on Taxi Charity trips across the UK and to the Netherlands and Normandy and for over 30 years. After enlisting during the war and…

Taxi Charity Dutch Ambassador Frans Ammerlaan has been awarded an honorary MBE by King Charles for services to commemorations and to British World War II veterans. Frans Ammerlaan has had a long association with veterans. He has a great interest in Operation Market Garden, an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in…

 WWII veterans enjoyed an event hosted by the Taxi Charity at Biggin Hill with two Spitfire flights and entertainment from the D Day Darlings. On 12 September a group of nineteen WWII Veterans were joined by veterans from other conflicts for a Taxi Chairty event in the Heritage Hangar at Biggin Hill, a working hangar…

On 1 September, a group of Taxi Charity for Military Veterans volunteers, veterans and supporters attended a reception at the Ambassador’s Residence in The Hague. Joanna Roper CMG, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Netherland has met with the Taxi Charity on several occasions and kindly invited them to visit her Residence on their way to…

On 2 September veteran Ben Mead who served with REME in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan will be marching 40km carrying 15kg to raise funds for the Taxi Charity. On Saturday 2 September Ben Mead, from Eastbourne,  will join thousands of others to participate in the 40km Wandeltocht route around Oosterbeek near Arnhem. Many of the…

On 4 July over fifty volunteer black cab drivers took veterans to Worthing for the Taxi Charity’s 75th Anniversary Visit. In a tradition stretching back to 1948, veterans who are supported by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, have been treated to a day at the coast for a fish and chip lunch. Now in…

In September 1944, at the age of 19, Frank Ashleigh was the youngest airman to take part in Operation Market Garden. Frank Ashleigh from Kingsbury, who served in WWII with the Glider Pilot Regiment died on 18 June 2023 after a short stay in hospital, he was 98. Frank is survived by his wife Mavis…

The Taxi Charity was saddened to hear that WWII veteran Alexander ‘Alec’ Campbell Borrie, who served with 1st SAS had died in Darent Valley Hospital. WWII veteran Alec Borrie, 98, died in Darent Valley Hospital on 21 May. He was one of the last surviving members of the 1st SAS. Alec Borrie volunteered for the…

WWII Veteran Roy Smith’s passport renewal was collected just in time for him to travel to the Netherlands for Dutch Liberation. It was touch and go whether WWII Veteran Roy Smith from Sittingbourne would be able to travel to the Netherlands with the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans when his passport renewal got held up…