A memorial service was held at Coventry Cathedral recently to mark the life of Len Hardy BEM, the co-founder of and driving force behind the Veterans Contact Point.
Many local dignitaries and veterans attended the service to pay their respects to Len, who passed away in September. Plans were announced to rename the HORSA Building in Bentley Road, Nuneaton after Len in tribute to his tireless work in setting up the Veterans Contact Point (VCP).
The Veterans Contact Point as a community organisation began in 2009 working out of a small room in Nuneaton Town Hall. Len secured the use of the HORSA building; a disused school building in the grounds of Queens CofE Academy.
The VCP formally became a charity in 2012 and secured a peppercorn rent lease on the HORSA building from the Council in 2013. HORSA is the acronym for the 'Hutting Operation for the Raising of the School-Leaving Age', a programme of hut-building in schools introduced by the UK Government to support the expansion of education under the Education Act 1944.
The VCP grew from those early days and created a number of working partnerships with a range of different agencies. For example, SSAFA, and a mental health project from Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (CWPT).
Over time this project evolved to deliver Op Courage (Veterans NHS Mental Health Service) in Coventry and Warwickshire. A number of other programmes such as Remember Veterans, a criminal justice and veterans initiative, have been run from the VCP and their team of volunteers.
Len was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2019 for his work with veterans in Warwickshire.
Len came to Warwickshire aged 15 when he joined the Army at 15.5 years old as a Junior Leader at Gamecock Barracks, Bramcote Nuneaton. This began Len’s lifelong association with Nuneaton and the county. He served for 25 years in the British Army, including some time with 29 Commando Regiment having completed the All-Arms Commando course to gain the coveted green beret.
After leaving the Army, Len worked in the Criminal Justice sector providing rehabilitation services. During this time Len became aware of the many veterans who were in the Criminal Justice System and began his community/voluntary work to support veterans in Warwickshire.
Cllr Edward Harris, Chair of Warwickshire County Council, and Chair of the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership, was among those who attended the memorial service on behalf of the County Council. He said: “It was good to see so many in attendance paying their respects to Len who worked so tirelessly for the cause of Warwickshire’s veterans. His name is synonymous with the VCP/HORSA building so it is a fitting tribute to a man who gave over 50 years of military, community and voluntary service that the building will bear his name.”
President of the VCP, Prof Damian Griffin said: ‘We are so pleased that Warwickshire County Council is able to do this. We are always very grateful to the Council for all of their support of Veterans Contact Point: Naming our headquarters in Nuneaton after Len will give us a lasting memorial to him and reminder of all the work he did to establish the charity and enhance the care for veterans across the county.’
Further details on the Armed Forces Covenant can be found here