The University of Winchester has formed a new partnership with the MoD’s Personnel Recovery Centre at Tedworth House to extend the offer of free archaeology degree courses to service veterans.

The university has offered fee-waiver undergraduate students in archaeology for wounded, injured or sick veterans since 2016, when the scheme was established by Dr Paul Everill.

The initiative has now been expanded to include the MoD’s Personnel Recovery Centre (PRC) at Tedworth House, Tidworth, enabling personnel on recovery duty to benefit from the opportunity to study archaeology directly after leaving the military.

Winchester was the first university in the country to deliver a BSc degree in archaeological practice, delivering vocational skills for those wanting to pursue a career in commercial, developer-led archaeology.

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Captain Leanne Kelly, training officer at Tedworth House, said: “Service personnel on recovery duty face the challenges of not only their health issues, but also potentially the unknown in relation to their future.

“For some a life in the services is no longer possible and seeking new opportunities in civilian life can be daunting. All service personnel have an excellent set of transferable skills and are highly-motivated but some find it difficult to identify a new and exciting challenge that matches their interests. This is where the University of Winchester has stepped in to provide those leaving the Service with an amazing opportunity to study archaeology.”

“Archaeology seems to have enormous potential for improving wellbeing” said Dr Everill.

“The mechanisms aren’t fully understood but recent research demonstrates that active engagement in archaeology, when it’s designed as a therapeutic activity, can decrease anxiety and depression while increasing self-worth and wellbeing. It seems likely to be a combination of physical activity and working outdoors, plus teamworking which provides peer support opportunities – allowing veterans to share and process experiences.

“Engagement with material remains of the past is also a powerful factor, and perhaps one of the key ingredients. Of course, for the veterans who come to Winchester to study and retrain, there is also an important element of transition into a civilian career they are passionate about and being able to redefine themselves.”

Alastair Eager, a former Royal Marine about to start his fourth year at the university.

“Having left the Royal Marines in 2016 I was effectively at a loss as to what to do next, and it was by chance that I discovered archaeology through Waterloo Uncovered,” said Mr Eager.

“I was hooked, and it was the University of Winchester that enabled me to turn this historical passion into a new career. Being offered the studentship in 2020 was a life-changing opportunity for me. This career change would have been otherwise untenable with a young family to support. It's been a fantastic experience, and I’ve really enjoyed testing myself again, both in a classroom environment and while conducting archaeological fieldwork.”