Meet Steve Burton
Postcodes / Area covered
AB, DD, DG, EH, FK, G, HS, IV, KA, KW, KY, ML, PA, PH, TD (Scotland only), ZE, & Northern Ireland
Their Story
Steve grew up in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He joined the Army in 1979 at 16 and served in the RCT and Adjutant Generals Corps (SPS) for 37 and a half years. He has served in UK, Germany, Hong Kong and Cyprus and has been on operations in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Steve resigned his commission in late 2015 as Commanding Officer of the Personnel Recovery Unit in Shrewsbury/Donnington to join Blesma.
Steve now lives near the coast in Northumberland close to the Scottish Borders with his wife, Diane and their Scoland Terrier Angus. A former semi-professional rugby player, his passion remains with rugby, but he also enjoys most sports, sadly as a spectator. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening and walking with in the Northumberland National Park or on the beach with Diane and Angus.
Have a question or need advice?
Your local Blesma Support Officer is here and on hand to help provide advice and support; practical, emotional or financial. Please contact them in the first instance whenever you want to get in touch with Blesma.
M: 07766 258461
Your local Outreach Officer is also available for support, feel free to contact them.
Outreach Officer Scotland Rachael Kennedy
Rachael grew up in Lincolnshire but moved to Scotland in 1996 to study chemistry at Strathclyde University. After spending nearly 10 years in academia, she retrained as a primary school teacher. Prior to joining Blemsa in 2023, Rachael had been teaching young people with complex additional support needs.
Rachael lives on the west coast of Scotland and enjoys nothing more than being on the sea, whether that’s sailing or kayaking. She is also a keen walker and has completed several of Scotland’s long-distance paths. When the Scottish weather doesn’t allow for such activities, you can find her playing her violin with the local band or planning adventures for warmer days.
M: 07884 695703
Outreach Officer Northern Ireland Fiona Morrison
I joined Blesma as the Outreach Officer for Northern Ireland (NI) in 2018. Prior to this, I was employed as a civilian Army Welfare Worker within the Army Welfare Service Personal Support Team; my role was to provide confidential welfare support to military personnel and their families and offer advice and guidance to both internal and external agencies relating to welfare issues. The support was wide-ranging from work-related issues, isolation, relationship difficulties, bereavement and loss, the transition from Service, Wounded, Injured Sick soldiers and safeguarding.
My role as the Outreach Officer for NI is to reach out across the Blesma membership and connect members and widows to Blesma, to each other and within their local community. I do this by conducting home visits to those who may be socially or geographically isolated, prioritising a contact telephone programme and organising and running a blended programme of regular activities and events; these include at-home activities, online workshops and, of course, face-to-face events. Whether this is a member-only or incorporates the family unit, any event or activity is seen as a positive step to bring our members together. I coordinate fundraising and awareness-raising events alongside members to support and raise the profile of Blesma.
M: 07741 744617
