I Married a Soldier

Brenda Hale is a Democratic Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland who was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Lagan Valley in 2011. Hale's husband served with the British Army and was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Brenda then started to speak to the Ministry of Defence on behalf of other war widows and has since lobbied and campaigned robustly to have the Military Covenant UK wide and for the government to take full responsibility in looking after injured service personnel and bereaved families. She has a BSc (Hons) in Social Policy through the Open University and is Lagan Valley Member of the Legislative Assembly, Northern Ireland (Democratic Unionist Party). Rachel Farmer is a former newspaper journalist working as a freelance editor, writer and communications specialist. With experience in professional PR and magazine editing, she currently manages communications for an international charity alongside writing and editing a magazine for the Armed Forces Christian Union. She is married to a chaplain in the British Army and lives close to Chichester Harbour on the English south coast.

Courage is found often only when we face seemingly impossible challenges - Brenda Hale’s moving and powerful story is all about that kind of courage. It’s an inspiration to read how, with strength from her own faith, support from friends and her own steely determination, she has overcome so much and has committed to fight to help other bereaved forces families.