Military Personel at Wimbledon

[GlenB]

Why are there military personel in uniform at Wimbledon? Are they officially on (military) duty and are they paid either by the MOD or by the Wimbledon authorities?

[kira000]

They talked about it on the beeb yesterday.
They are off duty service men and women, acting as wimbledon stewards, mostly recently back from active service.
Didnt say if they were being paid, or if so, who by.

[Philtaz]

Servicemen and women of HM Forces are paid 365 days of the year, whether on leave or deployed.

I've known former colleagues who have attended Wimbledon in such a capacity and as far as I can recall it is usually on a voluntary basis i.e. they usually attend whislt taking their official leave.

It's been a while since I served though so policy may have changed.

[jackthehat]

My son was to have been a steward this year. He had to put in a leave request which was granted and booked a hotel close by. The MOD would have re-imbursed him for this and he would have received his usual pay whilst attending.
Unfortunately, his work commitments over-rode this 'break' and he has had to perform his usual duties instead.

I had the VCR all set and was looking forwards to spotting him on the Centre court, too :o(

[Philtaz]

Don't think so Steve5, I've seen ranks from SAC (RAF) and Spr right up to WO II at Wimbledon.

Can't say I've ever seen any officer's though!

[freshco]

They get subsistance on a daily rate basis, and are paid by the AELTC not the military. Ranks are from Private to WO1 and Commanding ofiicer is LT. COL and 2ic is a Major.

[cazzz1975]

they are there to tussle with swine flu

[GlenB]

Thank you all for the interesting comments.

[cpppp]

For civilians, gaining entry to Wimbledon often means long queues in the lashing rain or sweltering heat.

However, there are a few members of Britain’s Armed Forces that get to walk straight in.

More than 300 military volunteers work as stewards at Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, each year.

The now well-established tradition of military stewards manning gangways on Centre and No. 1 Court (below) began after World War Two.

No. 1 Court Wimbledon
Left badly damaged by German bombing during the war, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club was offered the services of the Armed Forces in 1946 in order to get back on their feet.

Nowadays, Armed Forces personnel have to use part of their allocated leave to steward at Wimbledon.

Competition for places, however, is almost as fierce as that taking place on the courts themselves - with the opportunity to work at such famous courts difficult to ignore for many service personnel.

In 2015 Warrant Officer Class 1 Mark Hannibal was part of the team in charge of the service stewards:

"For some, they're absolutely top of the world when they find out they've been chosen. They’re overwhelmed a lot of them, especially those who are first-timers and... didn't believe they could do it... I think the main thing is them realising that they're going to be at Wimbledon."

The Metropolitan Police and military personnel work together to create not just an effective team, but one that has long proved popular with the crowds watching the action on the grass courts of SW19.

According to Leading Seaman Stuart Linnahan: "Wimbledon for me is a bit of tennis, but it's also a chance for me to stand there and let the public see me."

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES?

Helping the public get to their seats
Ensuring the welfare and safety of the crowd and players
Keeping members of the audience well-hydrated
Ensuring mobile phones are switched off during play