Local veteran and Army Benevolent Fund ambassador teams up with fellow veterans
and celebrities to mark 80th Anniversary of VE Day...

Award-winning businessman and former soldier, Lee Harris-Hamer, joined fellow veterans and winner of BBC1’s The Traitors, Harry Clark, to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) as guests of the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) at the national Service of Thanksgiving on 8th May 2025.

The Service took place at Westminster Abbey and was attended by the Royal Family, and by veterans, including Lee and his fellow ambassadors of the Army Benevolent Fund, the Army’s national charity.

Lee served for almost eight years in the Army as a Lance Bombardier, in the 4th Regiment of the Royal Artillery, and saw two tours of Afghanistan. Lee, who lives in Thirsk, joined the Army at 17 but was devastated when he had to leave, aged 25, after he was injured during training.

Eventually with the support of the Army Benevolent Fund and his family, he re-trained and set up his commercial carpet cleaning business, White Horse Cleaning Services, which now employs 65 people.

Lee says: “It was a once-in-lifetime opportunity to attend the VE Day commemorations with other ABF ambassadors and my sister who is a serving soldier. When I had to leave the Army, I missed the sense of belonging and purpose it gave me so it was amazing to come together to pay our respects and remember all those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.”















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