Pam Healy, CEO British Liver Trust
“They could only work until they didn't fit in their uniform, so the aim was always to circulate the skirts until no skirt would fit them….” Joining us this episode is former WREN Officer and Reservist, Pam Heeley, who explains how women were not allowed to remain in the Navy once they had children; and as there was no maternity uniform, pregnant women had to leave when their skirts no longer fitted. Thankfully, times have changed. With ‘secret communications’, the handover of Hong Kong, a James Bond premiere event and working on the Bicentennial of the Battle of Trafalgar ‘T200’ under her belt, Pam’s time in uniform was diverse and interesting. But one of her most challenging roles was helping with the Lockerbie Air Disaster, “…shocking but a good thing to have done.” A later role with the MOD, saw Pam running the regional media for the whole of the country for all three Services, “…there was a feeling in about 2007 that defense was taking a bit of a hammering in the national media, lots of questions about whether we should be in Afghanistan or not… So as a result, the then the Gordon Brown government decided to try and tilt a bit of focus towards the regional media… their angle tends to be supporting their local Service personnel, not necessarily asking whether we should be there in the first place.” Finally leaving the military world, the charity sector beckoned, with Pam becoming CEO of a breast cancer charity and is now The British Liver Trust. We hear the little-known fact that men can contract breast cancer and that incidence of liver disease has increased 400% in the last 30 years. We discuss how since the Covid pandemic started, the medical world has accelerated to the cutting edge of science and technology and how advances in knowledge could have widespread benefits for years to come.Hosted by Steve Bomford and Mike Davis-Marks.Find out more about the Company of Makers or sign up to our newsletter.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.This podcast is supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.If you’re a member of the Armed Forces community and need support with your mental health, Op Courage can help. Or you could phone the Combat Stress Helpline on: 0800 138 1619Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces.We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.Company of Makers are trying to reach, and better understand, all members of the armed forces community who are also gamers. We’re especially interested in those that have served in conflicts over the last 30 years.To find out more contact us.