Mumma MIA

Mums of Marines In Action

The Mumma MIA project is solely for the Mums of sons who are currently serving with the Royal Marines. Being a former Royal Marine I think this is a fantastic conceptualisation.

When you are a young Commando it's difficult to understand the truama's you leave behind, when you walk out through the door and get your transport to go back to camp.

You are proud to have excelled to qualify to be an elite fighting-man. Of course you love your family dearly, and it sometimes hurts when you leave home; but, back at the establishment your training kicks in, and your emotions are pushed aside for the time being.

Kate fully appreciates that there are many organisations already actively involved in the care and support of families and loved ones of serving men and women; one more can only be of help!

What Kate wishes to do is to provide an additional, and very special, level of support. For those who could find comfort from other mums whom in the same boat as them, would like to communicate with a companion who has the same consoling compassion to express.

The rest are Kate's own words

Yes, I am one of those Mums, and this is just for us!

Why am I doing this?

Well, I decided to set up Mumma MIA when my Royal Marine son was injured in Afghanistan. The call, that everyone dreads, happened: “Whenever you hear Mum, don’t worry – I’m OK…..”

My motherly instincts kicked in, and I felt helpless and useless. I needed to talk, share and have comforting words with someone who could understand precisely how I was feeling.

As I’m sure you Mums appreciate, sometimes we just need to talk to another woman who is in the same boat as ourselves. Not to someone official – however well meaning – just plainly and simply another Mum.

My mission to support the Mums can thus be summed up in two simple words:

Caring

Caring means understanding that Royal Marine Mums are uniquely subject to all the stresses, strains and anxieties associated with living daily in the knowledge that their sons are out there fighting for Queen and Country in an extremely hostile environment.

I believe that the best way to help Royal Marine Mums cope with these stresses, strains and anxieties is to provide them with the opportunity to: Pick up the phone, whenever they feel the need, and talk to other Royal Marine Mums – who are uniquely capable of understanding the issues involved.

A chat or a rant may be all that is needed at the time to help ease the burden.

Meet other Royal Marine Mums in an informal environment, on a regular basis, so as to create a more lasting and positive bond between them. It is in an environment like this that the issues can be properly examined and care and emotional support focused where it is most needed.

In order to establish these telephone and informal meeting facilities, I need you Mums to get in touch with me via this website so that we can set up and manage a nationwide network of Mums who are willing to take part.

So please 'Do Get in Touch’ my email address is below.

Sharing

Sharing means providing emotional support and understanding – NOT just by email or letter – but, primarily, by means of telephone contact or through regular, face-to-face meetings.

First and foremost, I want to provide the environment for Mums to talk through their cares and worries, and, by sharing these, to help to reduce the emotional burden.

Sharing also means providing information to help Mums understand the whys and wherefores of what their sons are actually doing.

Yes, the Royal Marines provides information at family days and also through personal letters and its websites, but it is often very hard to take in all this information when it is given.

So, I aim to provide an information service that unpicks the official jargon and helps Mums to understand the issues better.

I will rely not only on the official Royal Marines’ material – but also on Mums sharing what information they have gleaned so as to keep Mums as up-to-date as possible.

Royal Marines’ Material:

Mums receive a considerable amount of written information from the Royal Marines when their sons join their units – all of it designed to help answer the questions that Mums may have.

Nevertheless, booklets and information packs, however well intentioned, can never answer every question, and, despite the fact that contact numbers are provided, experience has shown that there may be a delay between leaving a message requesting information and receiving an answer.

With that in mind, I believe that we Mums can add value to the official information available by recording information that we have found useful and that was not readily available through official sources.

Mums’ Material:

From Kate

I found the pre-deployment meeting really bewildering and frightening, so I did not absorb the mass of written and spoken information I was given. When I was placed under stress with my son’s injury, I was at a loss as to how to obtain up-to-the-minute information about him.

All I wanted to do was to speak to someone who would be understanding and clear thinking enough to tell me what I should be doing to get the information I needed.

So, my advice to Mums is to give first priority to recording the telephone number of the Unit Welfare Officer. This needs to be kept in a prominent place and quite separate from all the other official information available.

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Get in touch

The most important thing to remember about this Mumma MIA project is that it is founded upon the principle of personal contact – either by telephone or by regular face-to-face meetings.

However, to establish a nationwide network of Royal Marine Mums who want to take part, I first need you to email me at the following email address:

Kate@mummamia.co.uk

I will then make contact with you by return.

Kate's own website is: www.mummamia.co.uk

Mumma MIA Marines In Action www.Mumma Mia.co.uk

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