Forces Online: Our Journey and Mission

At Forces Online, we're proud to have been supporting our Armed Forces community for over a decade. Since our founder, Len Chappell, established us on 26th October 2013, we've been on a mission to meet the evolving needs of veterans and their families across the United Kingdom.

Our Evolution

Our journey has been one of growth and transformation. In February 2016, we took a significant step forward by registering as a Community Interest Company (CIC). This allowed us to expand our reach, operating and fundraising in every corner of the UK - from England and Wales to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

We didn't stop there. On 7th April 2020, we transitioned to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registration number 1188955. This change reflected our unwavering commitment to our core aim:

"The Relief of Former Armed Forces Service Personnel, who are in need by reason of age, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage in particular but not exclusively by providing them with help and assistance and by offering them a sign posting service to expert support providers for their benefit."

How We Support You

At the heart of what we do is "The Veterans Directory" - our extensive online resource. We've built this in collaboration with numerous veterans and support organisations throughout the UK. It's our way of connecting you, our veterans and your families, with the support you need and deserve.

We're proud of our volunteer-driven approach. It allows us to provide consistent and swift support to our Armed Forces Community. Whether you prefer to reach out via chat, email, telephone, or messenger, we're here for you.

Our Services

Over the years, we've expanded our services to better serve you:

Our Main Charity Website: This is your primary portal to access all our services and information.

VirtualHub: Our live Zoom platform operates Monday to Friday 10am - 4pm, giving you a virtual space to connect and access support HERE

Welfare Support: Our dedicated team is ready to accept referrals from armed forces veterans, currently serving personnel, and their families. We've made sure the referral system is quick and easy to navigate.

Veterans Directory: This is our interactive, searchable database of armed forces community support organisations in the UK. It's free to access and list on.

Veterans Hardship: Through the Tom Howat Hardship Fund, we provide free phones, SIM cards, laptops, and food vouchers to armed forces veterans, their families, and dependents. You'll need to request support through one of our referral partners.

Employment Support: This is our newest service, dedicated to helping you with employment-related matters.

Walk of Life: This year-round initiative (featuring music by Dire Straits) gives everyone a chance to make a difference. By walking to raise money for Forces Online, you're directly supporting veterans, their families, and dependents.

Forces Online Membership: We've created a comprehensive membership system to help fund our services and keep them running for you.

Veterans in the Neighboorhood: Our scheme backed by a couple of surgery's in Gloucester is up and running and hopefully will roll out to more areas.

FOL Live Chat: You'll find this service on all our websites. A live operator is ready to direct you to the best point of contact within our organisation.

Reaching Out to You

We've embraced technology to make sure you can easily access our services. Our Live Chat service, is now provided directly by Forces Online. Our AI FOL Helper is available 24x7 and in many cases it will be able to answer your enquiries or direct you to the appropriate service. Live administrators (humans) are available between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday. Chat dialogues from the FOL Helper and Live Operators are available in the Forces Online administrators emails with 1 minute of chat boxes being closed.  The Forces Online administrators will respond as soon as they can.  In the weekday daytime they try to respond within 15 minutes of the chat being received.  All chats after 1600 are monitored and will be quickly acknowledged.  Where the chats need a Forces Online administrator response this will be done on the next working day morning.

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Plus, we have our own Support Platform, independent of other social media networks, which you can access through our Links Page.

Where to Find Us

While our official registered office is in Swindon, our services extend far beyond this physical location. We primarily operate online, but if you need to visit our central admin office, we're happy to arrange that by appointment. Just give us a call at 0300 300 2288 for more information or to schedule a visit.

At Forces Online, we're more than just an organisation - we're a community. Through our range of services and our dedicated volunteer network, we're here to play a crucial role in supporting you, our UK veteran community. We're committed to ensuring that those who have served our country receive the support and assistance they deserve. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your journey.