LJMU recognises Armed Forces Week 2026

LJMU is proud to recognise Armed Forces Week - which brings together both Reserves Day (Wednesday 24 June) and Armed Forces Day (Saturday 27 June) - as part of its continued pledge to support the Armed Forces community under the Armed Forces Covenant.

Reserves Day celebrates the diverse Reserve Forces community for their outstanding contribution to the country and the transferable skills that reservists can bring to civilian employment, such as in higher education.

At LJMU, there are staff and students who are members of the Reserve Forces. Under its Military Veterans and Reservist Policy reservists are supported to carry out their duties alongside their work and there is also enhanced support for partners while their partners are away on deployment.

Armed Forces Day is a chance to show support for the people who make up the Armed Forces community, from current serving personnel to service families, veterans and cadets.

LJMU’s most recent activity in support of the Armed Forces Covenant

• Continued efforts to reduce the national gap in children from military families attending university by hosting service children from MoD schools at taster days and by introducing a contextual offer for service children
• Support for the Liverpool City Region (LCR) Armed Forces Covenant Partnership as a member and host venue for its launch
• Further collaboration with local and national cadet groups to inspire young minds to discover potential career options and future routes for further study
• Research and knowledge exchange through MOD funded research
• Student-focused projects to support the Royal British Legion in marking the 80^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War including the co-production of an exhibition website and creation of a Remembrance film

Armed Forces Week offers an important moment each June to recognise the contributions of our Armed Forces community. I’m particularly proud of the progress that we have made at LJMU this year in enhancing the support we offer to prospective and current students from Armed Forces families, alongside our continued work with cadet organisations as well as local and national veterans’ charities.

LJMU’s Armed Forces Champion, Dr Gus Ryrie

LJMU’s support for the Armed Forces community

LJMU signed the Armed Forces Covenant in 2021. Since then, it has appointed its first Armed Forces Champion and formed a cross-university Armed Forces Steering Group.

From research to Arts projects, to strengthening educational paths for ex-forces personnel, to widening participation in higher education through engagement with youth cadet groups. The university undertakes a variety of collaboration in this field to support the Armed Forces community.

Additionally, in August 2024, LJMU was awarded gold status under the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme in acknowledgement of the work being undertaken in support of the Armed Forces Covenant and was shortlisted for the Covenant Awards 2025 in the Most Outstanding Public Sector category. 

Find out more about LJMU’s pledge to the Armed Forces community