The AFF Trustees
The Trustees are the governing body of the Army Families Federation. Their role is to ensure that the Army Families Federation succeeds in its core role of securing a fair deal for army families, and have the legal responsibility for the overall management, decision-making and performance of the Charity.
The role of the Trustee is voluntary and unpaid.
The Trustees bring a wide range of skills and experience to the Army Families Federation. The Board has a Chair of Trustees, five Core Trustees, and Branch Trustees for the Germany, Cyprus and Training and Employment Branches.
In addition, the Trustees of the AFF:
- Take legal responsibility for the organisation and ensure it is solvent, well-run and doing what it was set up to do
- Ensures that sure the charity operates within the rules and guidelines set out in the charity’s governing charter and relevant legislation including charity, company law and employment law
- Give an account of the activities of the charity to the Charity Commission, makes sure that any change to the registered details are kept up to date, and submits its annual report and accounts to the Charity Commission.
Who are the AFF Trustees?
Maggie Pedder, Chair of the Board of Trustees
Gill Aldridge, Core Trustee
Caroline Buchanan, Core Trustee
Kathryn Price, Core Trustee
Angus Taverner, Core Trustee
Jane Viggers, Core Trustee
Helen Kirkland, Training & Employment Branch Trustee
Rich Stephens, Cyprus Branch Trustee
Germany Branch Trustee - Recruiting. Please visit 'Vacancies in Germany' for details.
MAGGIE PEDDER, CHAIR OF THE BOARD Of TRUSTEES
Maggie Pedder has been a trustee of AFF for the past five years and an Army wife since she was 21. Postings have included Germany and the Outer Hebrides (not her favourite place!). Whilst following the flag, Maggie has managed to juggle army life and a career in Human Resources and for the last six years has run her own HR consultancy business.
Maggie believes strongly that volunteers have a key role to play in lots of organizations and has managed volunteer projects for SSAFA in Germany, which included setting up a Victim Support scheme. Maggie has also been a Relate Counsellor.
For the last three years, Maggie has been the Chair of the Board of Trustees using her business knowledge and HR expertise to support the work of the Chief Executive and Council (AFF’s management board).
When not working, Maggie and her husband Andy enjoy sailing and skiing holidays and walking their dog in the Cotswolds.
GILL ALDRIDGE, CORE TRUSTEE
I am very lucky in having experienced normal life (!) before marrying Bill and putting on my backpack to accompany him around Europe. As a result I feel that I really do have some understanding of the realities of both civilian and army life – and the good and bad in both.
Focusing on Personnel Management after university, I spent over ten years working both in blue chip and entrepreneurial environments. Later, work with one of the major Cancer charities for a year or two taught me how challenging and rewarding it is to manage a volunteer team - and after the mobile phone explosion, I joined a telecoms focused company, and became General Manager, implementing a major change management programme.
Marrying Bill, I resigned from my job with mixed feelings, and with a small daughter in tow, travelling first to Northern Ireland, and then around Europe (where the German I studied at university finally came into its own), I have been able to experience the highs and lows of army married life. I enjoy the company, the sense of humour, dogged perseverance and generosity of those I have met and lived with. I have, however, also suffered the inevitable housing, schooling, separation, career and financial worries. Fun and frustration probably characterise the last few years: part-time jobs, consultancy roles, taking a degree in psychology (O.U.) and training with Relate, who I continue to work for, have filled my time.
I feel very privileged to be given the opportunity to work with AFF, and am determined to offer my best efforts to improve the lot of Army families.
CAROLINE BUCHANAN, CORE TRUSTEE
Caroline Buchanan became a Trustee of the Army Families Federation in October 2008. She has been an army wife for 11 years. Both of her parents served in the Royal Navy, which gave her some exposure to military life as a child.
Caroline has spent most of her working career working in the events, design and music industry. In 1993 she became Director of the Development Fund at the Royal College of Music raising funds and the profile for the College. She also was responsible for organising performance opportunities for the music students. In 1999 she became Business Development Manager for Furneaux Stewart, an award winning multi-disciplinary international design and communications agency, working with a range of national and international clients. Caroline developed and instigated their new worldwide PR and business strategy. Currently she runs her own direct-selling business.
Caroline shares the Army Families Federation’s aspirations and goals and is pleased to be associated with a great team who work hard to improve the quality of life for Army families worldwide. Since becoming an army wife she has lived on various military patches and sees first hand the challenges that face families with children and hopes that these experiences will ensure that AFF continues to be forward thinking and up-to-date with current issues.
Outside of work Caroline enjoys spending time with her family, geocaching, water sports, golf and playing the clarinet. She is married to Ian and they have two children; Charlotte 7 and James 4, and they are based in Hampshire.
KATHRYN PRICE, CORE TRUSTEE
Kathryn became a Trustee in 2005 when it was agreed that AFF could benefit from some financial expertise on the Board of Trustees. She is the only Trustee at present with no personal or family experience of army life and brings a civilian perspective to the issues and discussions.
Kathryn is a chartered accountant, self-employed and works in finance director roles in the housing association sector, giving her some insight into one of the key issues facing army families. She now lives in Wiltshire with her husband and teenage son and her interests include gardening, cookery, embroidery and holidaying in Germany.
ANGUS TAVERNER, CORE TRUSTEE
Angus Taverner became a Trustee of AFF in June 2007. His specialist area is Public Relations and Corporate Communications. In addition, Angus also has more general experience of the charitable sector having been the Deputy Chief Executive of the medical humanitarian aid charity, MERLIN. Angus is a strong supporter of the AFF; he believes that it is important for Army families to have a voice and that satisfied families are vital if the Army really is to claim to be the best.
Angus has an extensive military background, both as a Regular officer and more recently in the TA. He first joined the Army in 1979 (Royal Artillery), serving in Germany, Northern Ireland, Belize and the UK, finishing his full-time Army career as a Battery Commander in 1993. As a Reservist, he commanded the Army’s Media Operations Group from 1999-2001 and continues to serve today as the Deputy Commander of 51 (Scottish) Brigade.
Angus lives in Helensburgh in Scotland (about 25 miles north-west of Glasgow) on the Firth of Clyde from where he runs his own PR and strategic analysis company. He is married to Kitty who is a doctor working for Health Protection Scotland. Away from work and the TA, his main interests are sailing and photography.
JANE VIGGERS, CORE TRUSTEE
For 35 years, Jane accompanied her husband both abroad and in the UK, whilst he was serving in the Gunners.
After raising two children, Jane was employed for a time in publishing, facilities management and telecommunications. She also carried out voluntary work for Age Concern and her parish Church, and has been involved with ABF and SSAFA.
Now settled in ‘civvy street’, Jane enjoys her four grandchildren, renovating their Victorian town house and getting to know Parliament, where her husband now works. She felt very privileged to be asked to join the AFF Board of Trustees, seeing it as an opportunity to keep in touch with the serving Army community, and enabling her to draw attention to service families’ current concerns to a wider audience.
HELEN KIRKLAND, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT BRANCH TRUSTEE
This is Helen Kirkland’s 25th year as an army wife. During this time she has travelled, packed, scrubbed, cried, laughed and borne 2 children. Helen has had to reinvent herself as moving dictated changes in lifestyle and opportunities, and re-training has often been a necessity. After 17 or so moves, across 3 continents, she had hopefully settled in her own home in Wiltshire and undertaken a huge gardening project. She now lives in Aldershot!
Helen was militarily influenced by her father and his TA commitment while growing up. She later joined Bristol OTC and met her husband while on attachment to the Royal Engineers. Helen worked in hotels, racing yards, building sites and classrooms but mostly in kitchens as a freelance cook. This led to becoming a trainer after completing a teacher training course in Yorkshire and then running her own cooking courses for other army wives and civilians. When a posting to Belgium came up, Helen saw a chance to retrain as a TEFL teacher and worked in and around Brussels. On later postings she was a volunteer teacher of English to overseas students and their wives.
More recently Helen has found herself combining old and new skills acquired over the years. This has involved her in fund-raising, ski guiding, teaching at a local cookery school and computing. She has not discounted returning to education herself in the future. Presently she is involved with SSAFA, AFF and helps with RDA between skiing trips.
As an army wife there are so many opportunities to retrain and find new skills. Helen feels that we should never let new opportunities pass by. Moving constantly can be frustrating but it encourages us to be adaptable and employable, offering experience and skills that we have learnt along the way.
RICH STEPHENS, CYPRUS BRANCH TRUSTEE
Rich became a trustee of AFF in late 2009, shortly after he left the military to become a house-husband to his Army wife. Finding himself with a little time on his hands, he was delighted to be accepted as the trustee for Cyprus.
In his 23 years’ service Rich witnessed a huge amount of change regarding the Army’s place in society and experienced, at first hand, the stringent demands that have been placed on it in the last 10 years. He has shared the frustrations of occupying substandard quarters and of not being able to communicate with loved ones whilst deployed - and saw the impact that this had on operational effectiveness. And now, as a husband to a soldier, he has a different perspective and understands even more fully the crucial part that families play in making our Armed Forces so very good.
Both as someone with an ongoing personal interest and as retired military, Rich feels passionately that the views of Army families must be represented and taken into account.
Rich lives in Cyprus with his wife Anna and their 2 young children. The whole family enjoys sailing and in the few seconds which remain free, Rich enjoys fitness and cookery.