Crammed inside a rush-hour Tube carriage with fellow commuters in business suits and summer attire, Signaller Matthew Osment was self-conscious in full army uniform.
“I feel a bit of a clown,” the trainee accountant admitted yesterday as he made his way to his day job at a London office of PricewaterhouseCoopers. “People act a bit weird around people in uniform. They don’t really know how to treat you.”
Signaller Osment, 23, is one of thousands of reservists who wore their military kit to work as part of a national effort to raise awareness of the Territorial Army and other branches of Britain’s reserve force ahead of Armed Forces Day today.
Others taking part included Lance Corporal Stuart White, 29, a rubbish collector in Reading, Berkshire, who deployed to Afghanistan four years ago, several firemen and policemen in Birmingham, some nurses in Newcastle, a train driver in Cardiff and a beautician in Glasgow.
Major Jill Wildish, who helped to co-ordinate the event, said: “At a time when nearly 8 per cent of those people serving in Afghanistan are reservists, Uniform to Work Day is a chance for all of us to show our appreciation.”
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Hostility to the wars in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, Afghanistan has exposed some military personnel to abuse when they wear their uniforms. But the high price being paid on the front line in terms of deaths and debilitating injuries has led to a greater appreciation of Britain’s Armed Forces, regardless of people’s personal opinions.
The Government hopes to build on this sentiment at the second annual Armed Forces Day. “These men and women do not ask for sympathy, they ask for your support,” said Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary. “That’s why we need to give our Armed Forces a collective round of applause.” He plans to attend a major parade through the streets of Cardiff today, while more than 350 smaller events are taking place up and down the country.
Signaller Osment, of 68 Signal Squadron, 71 Signal Regiment, told The Times that he was wearing his uniform to raise awareness about the military and to encourage other people to join the reserves. He said: “If I show I can do it with a high-pressure job, then hopefully they will do it as well.” He joined the TA in 2008 and hopes to deploy to Afghanistan in the next two years.
“As a firm we realize that reserve forces are a matter of fact in the UK,” said Darren Ketteringham, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Signaller Osment’s personal mentor. “I think it is very stimulating. It creates a bit of excitement. It creates a bit of conversation. This is part of who Matt is. It is in his DNA so I am very proud and it livens up the office.”