Until Cllr. Eric Howell intervened, Sutton Council was one of a small number of London boroughs which did not officially support employees who may want to serve in the Territorial Army as Reservists.

Eric Howell got in touch with Sutton Council’s Chief Executive to get Sutton signed up to the SaBRE (Supporting Britain’s Reservists & Employers) campaign as a ‘supportive employer’. Only 9 out of the 32 London boroughs have failed to support SaBRE’s aims. Sutton was one of them.

My colleague Eric is an ex-serviceman who fought in the Suez Crisis. He was disappointed to discover that SaBRE had written to the Liberal Democrat Leader of Sutton Council asking for support, but did not receive a response.

Eric, along with fellow councillor Cliff Carter, came into contact with SaBRE last month when they went to support Sutton’s very own reservist unit at the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Trophy Challenge – a new military skills competition. Sutton’s TA Unit, the 210 Transport Squadron of the Royal Logistical Corps, is based in Stonecot Hill.

Commenting Eric said: “There was a motion at the last Council Meeting referring to the Armed Forces but it neglected to mention Sutton’s home-grown TA Unit, the 210 Transport Squadron. Along with several colleagues I witnessed their highly impressive skills first hand at the GOC competition last month. Sutton should be immensely proud of their achievements.

“As the borough’s largest employer it’s about time Sutton Council got its act together to officially sign up to the SaBRE campaign. Over 70% of other London Councils endorse this campaign to give support to our brave Reservists – why isn’t Sutton one of them?”