Research Community

Dr Gemma Carr is a Researcher at the Westminster Centre for Research in Veterans at the University of Chester. She previously led on the 'Exploring the Employment Experiences of Serving Partners' project. Gemma has extensive experience in qualitative and quantitative methodologies. She is also the wife of a serving soldier and also has a son who is serving. 

Dr Georgina Normile is a researcher from Bath Spa University whose interests focus on the well-being of early-years Service children during a deployment-related parental separation. Her PhD research was entitled ‘A case study exploring the impact of parental deployment on the well-being of British Army children in the pre-school year’. Georgina is passionate about representing a range of perspectives within her research, including those of young children themselves. A key aim of her research is to highlight how the nebulous term ‘well-being’ can be understood and operationalised to better inform educational and Armed Forces policy and practice for young Service children.

Dr Gill McGill is Co-director of the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research at Northumbria University, supporting its development since 2015. Gill has a growing portfolio of expertise and publications in the field of Veterans and military families research including leading research projects exploring access to health and social care for alcohol-related issues, bereavement, maintaining independence following limb loss and social isolation and loneliness among the LGBT+ Veteran population.  Gill also has significant experience in participant recruitment from ‘hard or reach’/seldom heard populations as well as in the design of peer-informed research projects.  Gill is also employed as an Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Social Care in the Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University. Gill has a background in Public Health, working as a commissioner and service provider, and she has extensive experience in project management and strategy development in the NHS, Local Authority and Third Sector settings.

Dr Hannah West is the Communications and Engagement Officer for the Female Veterans Transformation Programme (COBSEO Female Veterans Cluster). She works freelance as a researcher affiliated to Newcastle University and is currently working for the Dallaire Centre of Excellence for Peace and Security in Canada, Bodmin Keep military museum and as a Women’s History Network Early Career Fellow. She is also the Founder and Co-Chair of the Defence Research Network and Social Media Editor for the Journal of War and Cultures Studies. Through her research she is committed to uncovering women’s stories of conflict, contemporary and historical,  in order to question gendered understandings of how we know war and what this means for contemporary military cultures and behaviours.

Hilary is an Associate Professor in the Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research (VFI) at Anglia Ruskin University. There she leads research exploring how Veterans and their significant others live in their comunities with changing health needs and co-morbidities. Hilary's research interests cover health and well-being needs in relation to limb loss, loss of use of limb, long term health needs, chronic pain and how people live adaptively accordingly. 

Dr Jamie Barker is a researcher from Loughborough University, working in partnership with Dr Craig White on the Veterans' Resilience Programme. This programme aims to optimise Veterans' resilience and mental health and well-being and strengthen peer support networks for those Veterans that suffer from mental health and well-being issues. Their work uses a holistic approach to enhancing resilience, mental health, and well-being in Veterans by promoting a more active and healthier lifestyle and enhanced feelings of a positive social identity for those who participate. Dr Barker and Dr White are also currently producing an academic paper and policy documentation for the Office of Veterans’ Affairs. This will emphasise the potential positive impact of non-clinical interventions on Veterans suffering from mental health and well-being issues. Additionally, they are applying for additional funds to expand the Veterans' Resilience Programme nationwide.