Swindon & Wiltshire News
Wiltshire firm wins award for supporting veterans
A Wiltshire-based business and marketing consultancy has become one of only 20 businesses in the Wessex region to gain a prestigious award for supporting veterans.
Escape the Village has been awarded the Ministry of Defence’s highest employer recognition, the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award, recognising its outstanding and sustained commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community.
The award celebrates organisations that go above and beyond their Armed Forces Covenant commitments by creating forces-friendly workplaces and actively championing veterans, Reservists, military families and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.
This year, only 162 organisations across the UK have received the prestigious Gold Award.
Within the Wessex region, Lyneham-based Escape the Village is one of just 20 organisations to achieve this recognition, placing the business amongst a select group of employers demonstrating exceptional and sustained support for the Armed Forces community.
Even more notably, only around 15 per cent of this year’s Gold Award recipients are micro businesses, making Escape the Village’s achievement particularly significant.
For Escape the Village founder Liz Graney, the award carries a deeply personal significance.
A former member of the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC), Liz now serves as an Army Cadet Force Adult Instructor, helping to develop and support the next generation of young people. Coming from a family with strong military connections, she says the recognition is among the proudest moments of her business journey.
Escape the Village became a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant before achieving the Bronze Employer Recognition Scheme Award, followed by Silver, and now Gold.
The business has consistently demonstrated its commitment by championing veterans, Reservists, military families and cadet organisations, promoting the benefits that members of the Armed Forces community bring to the workplace and encouraging other organisations to sign the Armed Forces Covenant and strengthen their own support.
To achieve Gold Award status, organisations must demonstrate a long-term commitment that goes well beyond the Armed Forces Covenant.
This includes providing additional paid leave for Reservists, implementing supportive policies for veterans, service families and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, actively promoting the Armed Forces Covenant and encouraging other organisations to strengthen their own support for Defence and the wider Armed Forces community.
Minister for Veterans and People, Calvin Bailey MBE MP, said: “For a veteran starting a new chapter, or a Reservist balancing two demanding roles, having an employer in your corner makes an enormous difference.
“These 162 organisations have gone out of their way to make veterans, Reservists and military families feel genuinely welcome and supported. I’m incredibly proud to recognise them today, and I hope their example inspires many more.”
Liz Graney said: “Receiving the MOD Gold ERS Award is an incredible honour and one that means so much to me personally. Having served in the WRAC, continuing to volunteer as an Army Cadet Force Adult Instructor, and coming from a family with long-standing military connections, supporting the Armed Forces community has never been about ticking a box – it’s simply part of who I am.
“When I founded Escape the Village, I wanted to build a business that reflected my values. The Armed Forces teach resilience, teamwork, integrity, leadership and commitment, and those principles continue to shape how we work with our clients every day.
“To know that Escape the Village is one of only 20 organisations across the Wessex region to receive the Gold Award this year, and one of the relatively small number of micro businesses recognised nationally, makes the achievement even more special. It proves that you don’t have to be a large organisation to make a meaningful difference.
“This award belongs to everyone who has supported Escape the Village over the past few years. I hope it also encourages other small businesses to discover how rewarding it is to support veterans, Reservists, military families and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers. The Armed Forces community has so much to offer, and by working together we can create more opportunities for those who have served, continue to serve, or support those who do.”
