The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.
The team at ‘Golden Rolls’ in Dawley, who signed the covenant agreement last month, received a visit from Chris Evans MP who is the Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement where he presented the business with a certificate in recognition of their commitment.
Golden Rolls has been operating since 2011 and is well known on Dawley high street for its delicious bakery goods.
Their pledge this week also saw Dawley become the first ‘Armed Forces friendly’ high street in the UK meaning that all 30 businesses have now signed up to the covenant to pledge their support to the armed forces. Dawley is also home to the borough’s veteran calm cafes which take place twice per month and offer local veteran support around their mental health and wellbeing.
Leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, Councillor Shaun Davies commented: “Congratulations to the team at Golden Rolls in Dawley who have joined the borough’s armed forces covenant becoming the 100th organisation to pledge their support to our armed forces community.
“Thank you also to Chris Evans MP for visiting us this week ahead of Armed Forces Day. Chris’ remit includes defence planning for our armed forces so we took the opportunity to visit Rheinmetall Bae Systems Lands (RBSL) who are a UK defence engineering company based in Hadley. I am extremely proud that organisations like RBSL, which support our UK Armed Forces, operate from our borough and this was a fantastic reminder of Telford’s diverse cross-section of businesses. Since 2019, we have worked with RBSL through our planning teams to support growth on the site, with recruitment and skills support and energy provision. It was my pleasure to accompany Chris on the tour today.”
Chris Evans MP, Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement said:
“I was so pleased to join Councillor Shaun Davies today in Dawley to see their ‘Armed Forces Friendly High Street’. It was truly amazing to see how the community has come together to show their support for our Armed Forces and recognise the vitally important work they have done for our country.”
The Armed Forces Covenant aims to ensure that our Armed Forces community have the same access to community, public or commercial services and products as any other resident. In some instances, those members of the Armed Forces community that have sacrificed the most are entitled to special treatment.
Since the borough’s Covenant was launched in 2011, 116 businesses and charitable organisations in total across the borough, have signed up to support our armed forces community including 35 organisations in the last 12 months alone.
