Page 58 - Bugle Spring 2024

PAGE 56
ADVERTORIAL FEATURE
The Lady Grover’s Fund – Supporting Military Officers and their Families Since 1911
THE LADY GROVER’S FUND (LGF), founded over a hundred years ago, continues to operate today as a successful Friendly Society. Open to all serving, Reservist and former officers of the three military services and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary - for
a small annual fee (starting from
as little as £55 per year), members can access financial grants towards the costs of unexpected illness or injury for themselves and their family members of up to £8000 per year.
2024 is a significant year for the
Fund. From January it is opening
its membership up for the first time, giving serving and former officers the opportunity to join as an individual and benefit from the cover which, in the past, has only been available for their family and dependants.
The Story of Lady Grover and
the Founding of the Fund
In 1911, a very special Fund came into being - the brainchild of a pioneering young woman, Lady Grover - who identified the need for a scheme to support military wives with the cost
of their medical treatment. Born in Scotland in 1868, Helen Grace Lawrence became Lady Grover through her marriage, in 1891, to Captain Malcolm Henry Stanley Grover, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General and was knighted in 1911. Together they had a son, Major General John Grover, who
led the 2nd Infantry Division in Burma between 1941 and 1944.
Stationed in India in the early 1900s, Lady Grover quickly identified an inequity that existed between the financial support available to help British officers’ cover their medical costs and the little to no support available
for their wives or female dependants. Impressed by the need to address this, by 1911, Lady Grover had established the Officers’ Family Hospital Fund.
Only a year after establishing the Fund, Lady Grover sadly died on 24 April,
1912. Her husband, General Sir Malcolm Grover, was invited to become president in her place. The committee renamed the Fund the Lady Grover Hospital Fund for Officers’ Families in her memory.
Today, LGF is a thriving Fund and is welcoming new members from the serving and former officer community. To find out more and how you can join, visit: ladygrover.org.uk
• Best Navy/RM CM: Lt Col Matt Baylis (UK)
• Best Air and Space Force CM: Wg Cdr Kieran Tinkler (UK)
• Best Civil Servant CM: Andree-Ann Melancon (UK)
• The Andover Prize: Maj Jonghyun Park (Republic of Korea)
• Andover Prize Runner Up: Wg Cdr Shaun Reece (Australia)
• The Brooke Popham Prize: Cdr Ed Johnstone-Burt (UK)
• Brooke Popham Prize Runner Up: Wg Cdr James Waller (UK)
• The Cormorant Award: Lt Col Mousa Almatrook (Kuwait)
• Best International Course Member: Maj Tom Nell (USA)
• The Ironmongers Prize: Lt Col Ed Middleton (UK)
• The CDS Prize: Lt Col Matt Baylis (UK)
Despite the inevitable disappointment for those who just missed out, the consensus was that this superb evening topped off a course spent with some newfound lifelong friends.