North East Ambulance Service pays tribute on Remembrance Weekend

Colleagues from across the organisation — including emergency and scheduled care, the emergency operations centre (EOC), and support services — will attend local ceremonies to lay wreaths on behalf of NEAS, joining colleagues from partner emergency services and armed forces organisations. Together, they will visit cities, towns, and villages such as: Newcastle, Durham, Morpeth, and Bishop Auckland, to name a few. 

NEAS employs a significant number of veterans as well as military personnel who are currently serving. 

The Trust is proud to be recognised as a ‘Veteran Aware’ and ‘Armed Forces Gold Covenant’ employer.  Since signing the ‘Armed Forces Covenant’ in 2020, NEAS has progressed through the ‘Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS)’ to achieve the ‘Gold Employer Award’. 

This commitment to the ‘Defence Employer Recognition Scheme’ (DERS) is the highest level of recognition from the Ministry of Defence for employers, commending those organisations who go above and beyond in their support for the armed forces community.

Karen Gardner, assistant director of people and development at NEAS, said, “As we approach Remembrance Day, we are once again reminded of the sacrifices many men and women have made for our country.  Hundreds of these brave individuals now work in our service.  They are rightly very proud of the service they have given, and often continue to give, to their country, and we are equally proud of them and the valuable contribution they continue to make through working for us."  

Hannah Vice is the co-chair of the Trust's staff network, Serve@NEAS, which invites all serving and veteran members of staff to meet and create their own community – often getting involved in celebrations, such as Remembrance Day, and many others. 

Hannah added, “Remembrance Day reminds us not only of the courage and sacrifice of those who served before us, but also of the enduring spirit of service that continues within our organisation today. 

“The Serve@NEAS staff network honours that legacy by supporting and connecting with those within the North East Ambulance Service who have served, are serving, or who carry the values of service in their everyday roles. 

“This network is more than a community — it’s a living reminder that dedication, compassion and unity are at the heart of everything we do.”  

This year, NEAS encouraged staff from across the organisation to share who they are remembering on Remembrance Day.

Adrian, a clinical development and education officer at the North East Ambulance Service, shared his Dutch grandfather, Anton’s, story, “I wish to remember Anton Kalff, my Dutch grandfather, who worked with the Dutch Resistance during the second world war. 

“His job was to hide Dutch Jews from occupying forces and distribute funds to Resistance fighters. He was imprisoned in a concentration camp but survived. He never spoke about it afterwards, except to talk about the importance of freedom.”