Dr. Milroy, who is an alumnus of the School, has been involved with homeless Veterans since 1996. His MA looked at the effect of military service on armed forces personnel and families in general, while research for his PhD (Pathways to the Streets for Ex-Service Personnel 2001) was conducted among street homeless veterans. This ground-breaking PhD is now held in Library of Parliament of Canada.

Professor Gillian Schofield, Head of the School of Social Work at UEA, said, “The School of Social Work was delighted to be involved in the important research that Dr Hugh Milroy undertook in completing his PhD with us, as the challenges facing many veterans must be a concern for us all. The fact that Dr Milroy went on to build on his valuable research and become Chief Executive of a leading charity, Veterans Aid, is an excellent example of how we hope research can have an impact on policy and practice. We look forward to working with Dr Milroy in his new role as Honorary Visiting Fellow.”

Dr. Milroy said, “I am both delighted and honoured to become an Honorary Visiting Fellow within a School that I regard very much as my academic ‘home’. The School has a long history of being at the very pinnacle of social work training and research and it is very exciting for me to become involved in such a practical way.

“Using my knowledge and considerable experience in the field to enhance the work of the School is something that I regard as vital because veterans and their families comprise a significant part of the nation. It is inevitable therefore that Social workers will be involved with them, but the world of veterans in the UK is something that is frequently mythologised and exaggerated within the media, health service, criminal justice system, charitable sector and social care service. It is vital that our future social work leaders have a sound working knowledge of facts and issues rather than folklore.”

Dr Milroy took over as head of Veterans Aid after a 17-year career as an RAF officer during which time he was the final station commander of RAF Swanton Morley, near Dereham, Norfolk, prior to the Army taking over. His youngest daughter was born in Norwich and he still maintains a strong East Anglian connection. Seven years of Dr Milroy’s academic study were conducted at UEA and he received his PhD on the same day as Professor Schofield.

Towards the end of his military career Dr. Milroy became the RAF’s senior welfare and community specialist and did much innovative work in introducing community wellbeing as part of the Force approach to personnel effectiveness.

Under his guidance Veterans Aid has undergone a rebrand, received an Institute for Turnaround Award, became a member of the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) and achieved international acclaim. In May 2012 Dr Milroy became an OBE in recognition of his outstanding work on behalf of homeless ex-Servicemen and women.

A former Visiting Research Fellow at Kings College, Dr. Milroy still gives an annual lecture to MSc students in the Department of War Studies and recently co-authored a paper on Stolen Trauma with Edgar Jones, Professor of the History of Medicine and Psychiatry at Kings.