The EllisJames team supports some of the most famous and respected names in defence with a wide variety of brand consultancy, engagement and creative support services, but its relationship with the Armed Forces is also very personal and deeply felt.

Most directly, one of the EllisJames team is a serving member of the Reserves – their direct experience providing invaluable insight and comprehension to the team and the customers they support every day.

In 2020, EllisJames director, Si Ellis, joined with the Groves family to conceive a memorial for submariners. Their design was selected and brought to reality by sculptor Paul Day, and in 2021, was inaugurated at the National Memorial Arboretum by the Prince of Wales, Prince William.

“Dad and I would laugh at how I went off to art college to be a long-haired creative but still managed to end up working in defence!”

Si Ellis

The connections run deeper still for Si, who commented: “My paternal grandfather, father, mother, aunt and three of my uncles served in the Royal Navy. My maternal grandfather was a pilot in the RAF and killed in action in Malaya in 1953. My maternal grandmother worked at GCHQ in Cheltenham. My mother- and father-in-law met each other serving with the British Army!

“Even when my parents left the service, they didn’t move far away from the services – Dad spent much of his career at British Aerospace (now BAE SYSTEMS) and mum at Airbus. Latterly, dad worked as Health and Safety Manager at Abbey Wood.

“Dad and I would laugh at how I went off to art college to be a long-haired creative but still managed to end up working in defence!”

Beyond a commitment to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are intended to ensure no member of the Armed Forces Community faces disadvantages in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen, EllisJames has made a number of additional pledges, including providing work placements for veterans and reservists seeking career change, and discounted rates for Veteran- or Reservist-led SMEs and start-up businesses.

“We meet so many wonderful, talented veterans and serving personnel in our line of work, and all of them modest to a fault, “ Si added. “We take inspiration from their commitment and dedication, and encourage every business to consider showing their support for our Armed Forces by signing the Armed Forces Covenant as well.”

For more information on the Armed Forces Covenant, please visit: https://www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk/