"I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

It is with deep sorrow that we learned of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, after a long life of selfless service to our country, doing her duty to the end, with that unforgettable smile glowing as ever in the last photographs. We express our deepest sympathy to His Majesty and to all of her children and grandchildren and the wider family.

This is a timely message from SSAFA the Armed Forces Charity:

UPDATE (OCT 2019):  Thanks for all members' replies and for your scrutiny of the draft answers developed on this site. BAFF duly submitted a response to the MOD consultation on 'Legal protections for armed forces personnel and veterans serving in operations outside the United Kingdom'. (OCT 2020): The former BAFF Chairman Douglas Young gave oral evidence on behalf of the Federation to the House of Commons Bill Committee considering the Government's Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill.

This video message from the Commandant General Royal Marines, Lt Gen Robert Magowan, is for all members of the Corps Family, and may strike a chord with many others who have served there or had family members there. Sources of help are listed at the end of the video.

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The top menu on the BAFF website also lists sources of urgent help, if required.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has formally abandoned its long-running inquiry into allegations that British troops committed war crimes in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.

It now looks as if the Labour Party, which abstained from opposing the Overseas Operations Bill at Second Reading (and sacked three junior spokesmen for voting against the Bill at that stage), may vote against the Bill at Third Reading tomorrow 3 Nov 2020 if their tabled amendments are not successful.

A large number of cross-party amendments have been proposed by Labour, Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party MPs - and by Conservatives. (BAFF members and registered supporters will already know that the federation has no party-political affiliation, and that BAFF never claims to speak for others beyond its own membership.)

We are very grateful to Mr Herbert Möller for some beautiful photographs taken at the candlelit Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery on Christmas Eve, 2018. This is one of his photos:

Ministry of Defence announcement:

Service personnel and their families are being encouraged to register to vote in this year's upcoming elections.

Update: The Public Bill Committee which has been considering the Overseas Operations etc Bill has now completed its work and has reported the Bill without amendments to the House of Commons. 

The Bill is now due to have its report stage and third reading on Tuesday 3 November 2020. Amendments can be made to the Bill at Report Stage. The Bill then goes to the House of Lords. Our article below is now archived.

Update: today Tuesday 28 April is the last day for applying for a proxy vote. Visit: Apply to vote by proxy - Includes information for service voters.

Time has now run out for registering to vote in the General Election on 7 May. The deadline to apply for a postal vote in this election has also passed. If you are registered you can still apply for a proxy vote until 5pm on Tuesday 28 April. After that deadline, you may still be able to apply for an "emergency proxy vote" in limited circumstances. Read on for more details: