Our team

Ben Curry MBE

Chief Executive Officer

Jonathan carries overall responsibility for the effective functioning of RMA-The Royal Marines Charity. He is the principal interface for the Charity with the Commandant General Royal Marines, and for liaison with the Charity Commission, Companies House, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity and other partner organisations. He is principally based at Portsmouth.

Simon Wright QGM

Chief Operating Officer

Simon’s role is an enabling one which encompasses oversight of all Charity HR, contracts, governance, health and safety, information systems and technology, insurance, infrastructure, strategic planning, risk management and mitigation, amenities funding and Company secretarial duties.

Richard Spencer CBE

Deputy Chief Executive 

Richard manages the business activities that make the charity operate efficiently and effectively. As Deputy Chief Executive, he is the Charity’s lead on the relationship with the serving Corps, on strategic planning and reporting. He is principally based at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

Wendy Sheen

Executive Assistant

Wendy is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive. She is responsible for timely preparation of materials required by the Chief Executive and acts as the first point of contact between the Chief Executive and outside parties.

Danny Egan

Director of Health & Wellbeing

Danny leads the Health & Wellbeing team from our Portsmouth Office – delivering the charity’s Health & Wellbeing delivery outputs to support the Corps Family.

Caroline Casey

Director of Fundraising & Communications

Caroline leads the Charity’s communications and fundraising teams, responsible for managing voluntary income derived from community fundraising and major events, and for the marketing and communications strategies across all platforms. She is principally based at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

Simon Giles

Devolved Nations Veterans’ Strategy Manager

Simon is responsible for liaising with the Service Veterans Commissioners’ and other Service Charities, in order to identify areas of best practice across the devolved nations.

He is also responsible for ensuring that the quality of service offered by the Charity, on behalf of the Corps Family, is recognised within the devolved nations. Also, that Royal Marine Veterans, and their families, are informed of the support available to them.

Phil Gilby MBE

Operations Director West

Phil’s role includes the planning and conduct of membership events.  Additionally, he plays a vital role in the promotion of the development of new branches, holding responsibility for specialist non-geographical branches. Phil is also the Event Director for the Royal Marines Commando Challenge, held annually on Woodbury Common and the liaison for troop reunions. He is principally based at Commando Training Centre RM.

Richie Puttock

Operations Director East

Richie’s wide-ranging role includes the planning and conduct of membership events, including key the London events, Graspan and Spean Bridge parades.  He plays a vital role in the promotion of the development of new branches.  His captive areas are The South, South East, Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  He works across Portsmouth and the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

Colin Hunt

IT Database Manager

Colin is our IT and Database Manager, specialising in networks, systems and databases.

Gaby Applegate

Membership Office Manager

Gaby is responsible for coordinating memberships for Association Members. She also is responsible for the PR activity of the Charity.

Sharon Seabrook

Membership & Finance Coordinator

Sharon is part of the Membership Team, managing all aspects of RMA – The Royal marines Charity membership. She is based at CTCRM.

Lucy Ekins

Membership Coordinator

Lucy is part of the Membership Team, managing all aspects of the charity’s membership. She is based at CTCRM

Adrienne Kamester

Membership Coordinator 

AJ is part of the Membership Team, managing all aspects of the charity’s membership. She is based at CTCRM.

Sue Holloway

Health & Wellbeing Service Development and Casework Manager

Sue is accountable for our Health & Wellbeing triage and direction.

John Reed

Welfare & Grants Manager

John is responsible for delivering and managing our grants to the Corps Family.  He works with other charities and SSAFA caseworkers to almonise grants and provide the best possible support to the Royal Marines Family.

Hazel Maxwell-Payne

Clinical Psychotherapy Lead

Hazel supports veterans and their families to access psychological treatments primarily through the NHS and when this is not available, via RMA – The Royal Marines Charity funded psychotherapists.

She provides ad hoc crisis support and advises the Health & Wellbeing team on mental health issues.

Kate Stoakes

Clinical case Administrator

Kate works within the Health & Wellbeing Team, coordinating the clinical case administration.

Jim Morris MBE

Transition Support Officer (South)

Jim provides our vital vulnerable service leaver support. He identifies physical and financial needs and links the service leaver with the most appropriate support, helps them develop new strengths and ensures they still feel that important sense of identity and belonging to the Corps family.  Jim works out of Stonehouse, Plymouth.

Paul Barrett

Transition Support Officer North (and Scotland, Northern Ireland)

Paul works closely with the whole charity especially the Health and Wellbeing team, to advise and facilitate vulnerable service leavers. Essential to his role is the ability to identify physical and financial needs and linking the individual to the appropriate support necessary. In helping create new strengths and opportunities he ensures the service leaver continues life with an important sense of identity within the Corps family. Paul works out of 45Cdo RM Arbroath.

Pam Diamond-Bunting

Addiction Specialist

Pam is the Addiction Specialist for the RMA-The Royal Marines Charity and joined the charity in 2019 following working as an MoD civilian in the Department of Community Mental Health in Plymouth. Pam qualified as a Mental Health Nurse in 1994 and has worked in the field of Substance Misuse and Mental Health crisis since this time, a large percentage of her career has been spent working within the military. She is also qualified in EMDR – a recognised treatment for trauma. 

Her role is diverse and includes alcohol/addiction education and brief interventions to serving Royal Marines and the assessment and treatment of RM Veterans who may have addiction issues and on occasions, their dependents. Pam is based in RMB Stonehouse, Plymouth but covers the UK and sometimes offers support to people in other areas of the world! She is passionate about treating alcohol use in particular and has supported over 100 people since joining the charity. 

Vivienne Laing

Welfare & Grants Administrator

Vivienne assists in the assessment and delivery of welfare grants to both serving and veteran Royal Marines and their families.

Paul Kirby

Welfare & Grants Officer

Paul works within the Welfare & Grants team. He is responsible for assessing new assistance requests and decides on the level of assistance given. Paul makes decisions on both financial or non-financial support, whichever is appropriate to the case.

Steve Willett

Tribunals Advocate & Pension Advisor

Steve works alongside Tom Coyle, Tribunals & Pension Officer, advising on pensions and compensation. He also represents serving and veteran beneficiaries at compensation hearings – ensuring they receive the best possible compensation following injury.

He works out of Stonehouse, Plymouth.

Kevin Jensen

Tribunals Advocate & Pension Advisor

Kevin works alongside Tom and Steve, providing advice on pensions, compensation, and representing serving and veteran beneficiaries at compensation hearings. He works out of RM Barracks Stonehouse in Plymouth

Nick Holloway

Relationships Manager, Scotland

Nick is the Relationships Manager in Scotland, responsible for delivery of the fundraising strategy in Scotland. This includes our Scottish events, including Commando Country, a network of Scottish businesses and the Bi-annual Scottish Dinner.  He also works with the Employment and Education team to provide assistance to resettlement activities in Scotland.

Andrew Pidgeon

Communications Manager

As the Communications Manager Andrew leads on the delivery of all digital communications and social media. He works closely with the Director of Fundraising & Communications to manage and deliver the Charity’s communication strategy.

Zan Whale

CRM & Major Events Manager

Zan is responsible for database, office and fundraising administration within the Charity.

Vic Drinkwater

Fundraising Manager

Vic is the Fundraising Manager for the charity and is based at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

Liz Sheridan

Public Relations Officer

Liz is the charity’s Public Relations Officer, working within the communications team.  She is responsible for helping raise the charity’s profile by seeking out newsworthy stories and coming up with creative ideas to spread the word as far and wide as possible.

Hannah Pym

Fundraising Officer

Hannah assists the Fundraising Manager and Team with various events throughout the year, helping to raise much-needed funds for the RMA – The Royal Marines Charity.

She is based at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.

Jasmin Kingdon

Communications Officer 

Jasmin is our Communications Officer. She works closely with the Communications Manager and Director of Fundraising and Communications, to help deliver the Charity’s communication strategy.

Zoe Darnbrough

Head of Employment and Education

Zoe ensures the delivery of Employment and Education strategy. She supports and maintains a relationship with potential employers. She is responsible for the management of caseloads and ensures the best possible support is given to those facing medical discharge.

Laurie Hawkshaw

Employment & Education Grants Officer

Laurie is responsible for the facilitation of Employment and Education grant requests. She works closely with all  beneficiaries in identifying training needs and engaging with relevant training providers to deliver the most up to date courses, to support all compulsory discharged, veterans and spouses.  

Tony Radford

Employment & Employer Relationship Coordinator

Tony has a focused approach to growing our employer relationships. He is responsible for supporting all compulsory discharged, veterans and spouses into sustainable long term employment. Tony delivers careers advice and guidance to all applicable as well as signposting to charity partners and relevant training providers.

Tom Wilson

Director of Development

Tom is responsible for the management and leadership of the major donor, corporate, trusts and legacies income generation and relationships
with the business network. Tom works collaboratively with the wider fundraising team, to develop a strategy and revenue streams that enable the delivery of the charity’s crucial outputs. Tom is based principally in London.

Tom Eaton

Development Manager

Tom works on the management and delivery of the charity’s research and tracking programme. He is also responsible for supporting the delivery of events organised by the charity’s Department for Development.