David Whelan

A former professional football player with Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra, Whelan is an entreprenuer and the current owner of Wigan Athletic. He is the former owner of JJB Sports and owns the DW Stadium (formerly the JJB Stadium) where Wigan Athletic and the Wigan Warriors RLFC play.

"I am fully supportive of this excellent initiative by David Cameron. We are very happy to support our boys in this way, and I will do everything possible to persuade other premierships clubs to join with this”

Lawrence Dallaglio

Dallaglio is a former English Rugby Union player and former Captain of the England National team. He also played as a flanker to the London Wasps. He was a key member of the England team that won the 2003 World Cup, and succeded Martin Johnson as Captain. Dallaglio is also involved in charity work such as the his participation in the Help For Heroes Rugby match at Twickenham in 2008.

Johnson Beharry VC

Beharry was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2005, the highest decoration for valour in the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces. He achieved this by twice saving members of his unit from ambushes at Al Amarah, Iraq in 2004. He sustained serious head injuries in the latter engagement. Beharry is the first recipient of the Cross in more than 20 years.

“This is a fantastic idea and it is heartening and uplifting for any serving soldier or ex soldier to know that people really appreciate the work they do and this is a brilliant way of demonstrating respect for our Armed Forces.”

Christina Schmid

Christina is the widow of Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, of 11 Explosive Ordnance Explosive Regiment, who aged 30, was killed trying to disarm a suspected Improvised Explosive Device in Afghanistan on 31 October 2009.  Staff Sergeant Schmid arrived in theatre in June 2009 and died on his last day of deployment; he had no Rest and Recuperation Leave during his operational tour.  During the course of his tour, he attended 41 tasks, rendered safe in excess of 64 Improvised Explosive Devices and attended 11 finds of bomb making equipment.

Since the death of her husband Christina has spoken powerfully about a number of issues surrounding the Armed Forces and has presented her own BBC1 Panorama investigation into the work of High Threat Bomb Disposal Officers. She has recently joined the News of the World as a campaigner for the military and their families.

In May 2010 Christina received the Elizabeth Cross from the Princess Royal, and in June she attended Buckingham Palace and received the George Cross, awarded posthumously to her husband, in a private ceremony with Her Majesty, The Queen.

Alan Shearer

The former England and Newcastle captain has given his backing to the charity, saying:

“I am delighted and proud to back such a fantastic scheme. I am sure this will make a major difference to our Armed Forces and is a very simple way for us to recognise their bravery and sacrifice.”

Jeremy Clarkson

"These are remarkable young men and women of whose courage and strength, we should be very proud.  I am delighted to support Tickets for Troops, which gives them something back and I hope shows that we really do value and respect what they do on our behalf."

Simon and David Reuben

David and Simon Reuben are well known British businessmen and philanthropists. They are joint chief executives of Reuben Brothers, a private company with over £6 billion under control. The company’s main interests are real estate, private equity and venture capitalism and has been involved in a number of major business transactions.

Stephen Hayes

One of the country’s leading entrepreneurs, Stephen started finance broker Loans.co.uk in 1997 and sold it to MBNA in 2005. During those 8 years, he grew annual turnover to £100m, with £25m annual profits. At the point of sale, Loans.co.uk employed over 400 people across 3 sites. Under his leadership, Loans.co.uk were awarded numerous accolades, including coming 5th in the prestigious “Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For” Awards. His leadership was also separately acknowledged in the Awards. Whilst at Loans.co.uk he was Chairman of Lawrence Dallaglio’s benefit year, and the driving force in the Committee achieving their target of raising £1m for charity. An amazing sum, and one unprecedented in this arena by some considerable margin. On leaving Loans.co.uk, Stephen bought a substantial shareholding in Wycombe Wanderers and took on the role of Managing Director. A fierce patriot, Stephen was the driving force behind London Wasps inaugural St. Georges Day game.

Sir Anthony Bamford

Sir Anthony Bamford assumed the role of Chairman and MD of JCB diggers in 1975. He was named young businessman of the year in 1979 and top exporter of the year in 1995. He was Knighted in 1990 at the age of 44. Today JCB is the UK’s premier manufacturer of construction equipment and exports its products to 140 territories around the world.

Joss Stone

Stone is an English Soul and R&B singer. She emerged to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album “The Soul Sessions.” Throughout her career she has sold over 10 million albums worldwide- more than any other British soul singer in the 2000’s. She has won Two BRIT Awards and one Grammy. She also made her Film Acting Debut in 2006 in the film, Eragon.

“Regardless of whether you agree with the war or not, they’re still out there fighting for us. So, they deserve a little bit of love don’t they… Or a lot!”

Ross Brawn

OBE (born 23 November 1954) is an English motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal. He has worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton < and Ferrari teams. He took a sabbatical from the sport in 2007 but returned to F1 for the 2008 season as Team Principal of Honda . He was the owner of the Brawn GP < team, which acquired the Honda team in early 2009, and won the Formula One Constructors and Drivers Championships in that year. Mercedes bought out the team in November 2009, where Brawn remains team principal.

"I am delighted to lend my support to Tickets for Troops and to show my appreciation for the wonderful job that the men and women in our Armed Forces do. Formula One is a huge global sport watched by millions on television but nothing beats experiencing the noise, passion and spectacle of a Grand Prix for yourself. We look forward to welcoming some of the people helped by Tickets for Troops to a race soon!"

Freddie Flintoff MBE

Freddie Flintoff is a cricketer for England. Since his debut in 1998, Flintoff has become an integral player and has both captained and vice-captained the team. Flintoff, according to the ICC rankings, was consistently rated amongst the top international allrounders in both ODI and Test cricket. Flintoff holds the record for the most sixes scored for England, beating Ian Botham's record of 67.

“I know exactly what the troops are going through from my recent experiences of travelling to Afghanistan to meet them. I was extremely moved by the whole experience and met some incredible people while I was out there. The Tickets for Troops scheme will hopefully help them and make them realize how grateful we are for their efforts.”

Stephen Hendry MBE

A Scottish professional snooker player, at 21 Hendry was the youngest-ever snooker World Champion. He has won the honour on six subsequent occasions. He was also snooker's world number one for eight consecutive years. Hendry also holds the distinction of most world ranking titles (36) and leads the field with well over 700 competitive century breaks.

“This is a chance for us to say, in however small a way, ‘thank you’ to those who are protecting our safety. We look forward to seeing some of the soldiers attending tournaments and I’m sure all of the players will want to put on a good show for them.”

Robert A. D Lawrence MC

Robert joined the Army in 1977, and commissioned into the Scots Guards. He served in West Belfast and qualified as a jungle warfare instructor in Brunei, later working in Africa.  Robert was awarded an MC in the Falklands and was hit by a 7.62 round to the head. Wheelchair bound for about two years he still carries a paralysed left arm, foot and ankle, left leg.  In the film ‘Tumbledown’, Robert's character was portrayed by Colin Firth. Robert worked for some years in West End and New York Theatre, Film and Television. He also has experience of working in the Private Military sector.

General Sir Mike Jackson

The British Army Officer and Chief of the General Staff began his career at 19 in the Intelligence Corps in 1963. He was subsequently commander of Kfor in Kosovo as well as being an IFOR commander in Bosnia. Amongst other posts he was appointed Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 1997. He was appointed Chief of the General Staff during the Iraq war, and relinquished the post in 2006.

Robert Edmiston

The British Motor Trade Entrepreneur and Philanthropist is the founder of a number of religious and educational charities including Christian Vision which was started in 1993. In 1974 he was Finance Director at Jensen Motors before setting up his own company, IM Group. His son has now taken over, but he remains Chairman.

Dame Vera Lynn

Lynn is an English singer whose career flourished during WWII. Nicknamed “the forces sweetheart” she was most associated with the songs “We’ll meet again” and “the white cliffs of dover.” After the war she became the first British performer to top the records chart in the USA. She was appointed an OBE in 1975 and sang outside Buckingham Palace in 1995 in a ceremony that marked the golden jubilee of VE Day. In 2002 she became President of the Cerebral Palsy charity SOS.

“I am supporting tickets for troops. I hope that they enjoy the shows and it goes with all my love and good wishes.”

Dame Kelly Holmes

"I am delighted to become a Patron of Tickets For Troops and as a former serving member of the Armed Forces I know how much a scheme like this means to the troops and their families.  I also know what a privilege it will be for athletes to compete in front of the brave men and women who have been serving our country. Tickets for Troops is a fantastic chance for sportsmen and women across the country to recognise the commitment of our troops."

Steven Gerrard MBE

Gerrard is captain of Liverpool football club and plays for the England. His honours include two FA Cup wins, two League Cup wins, a UEFA Cup win and a UEFA Champions League win in 2005. As of 13 May 2009, Gerrard is also the current holder of the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award. In the the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he was England’s top goalscorer with two goals.

"Young men and women are risking their lives every day and Tickets and Troops is a very simple way of respecting their courage and their sacrifices.”

Gavin Hastings OBE

Hastings is a former Scotland rugby union player. He is frequently considered one of the best, if not the best, rugby player to come out of Scotland. He has played for Watsonians, Cambridge University, Scotland and the British and Irish Lions and was one of the outstanding rugby union players of his generation, winning 61 caps for Scotland, 20 of which as captain.

“It’s giving organisation all over the country a change to show how proud they are of the troops and the great work that they’ve done”

Gary Lineker

Lineker is a retired English International Football Striker, and is now a sports broadcaster for the BBC and Eredivisie live. He remains England’s top World Cup scorer with 10 goals. He began his career at Leicester City and became known as a prolific goal scorer. He made his England debut in 1984 and over the following 8 years he scored a remarkable 48 goals- England’s all time second highest goal scorer ever.

“This is a terrific idea and it’s important that we show respect for what the soldiers are doing out there and the sacrifice they have made”

Joanna Lumley

The English actress is best known for her roles in the British television series Absolutely Fabulous, The New avengers and Sensitive Skin. She is also a former model, a human rights activist and an animal welfare activist. She has also been propelled into the limelight recently through her support for the Gurkhas and Prospect Burma.

"This is a win-win arrangement: brave and deserving troops get to see shows, concerts, fights and games virtually free: and we in the world of entertainment and sport get a chance to show them that we think they are the best of the best, and support them with all our hearts. Fabulous!!"

Sir Ian Botham

Sir Ian is a former England Test Cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. Over his career he scored 14 Centuries and 383 Wickets- a true all-rounder! He still holds the highest number of wickets hold by an England bowler. Botham is also a prominent fundraiser for charity, having undertaken 11 long distance charity walks.

“Lets get behind our troops, lets give them some support and lets show them just how much we appreciate the dangerous job they do for us.”

John Terry

John Terry is an experienced England International Defender and Chelsea Club Captain.

"We all picked up a medal for winning the Premier League but these young men and women deserve a medal every day for the courage they show."

Bruce Buck

Buck is a founding partner of the London office of US law firm, Scadden, Arps, as well as being Chairman of Chelsea Football Club. He has been practising law in Europe since 1983, and assissted Roman Abramovich in his acquisition of the club in 2003. Since 1988 Buck has converted the Mergers and Acquisitions firm into one of the leading European players.

'Tickets for Troops is a politically neutral and independent organisation, it is purely in the interests of supporting our Armed Forces, which we are always more than happy to do.”

Samantha Cameron

Samantha is wife of the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

"Tickets For Troops has been a massive success in terms of recognising the work and courage of our troops but it has also rewarded those families whose support and love is crucial in the frontline. I am delighted and privileged to support such an excellent cause."

James Blunt

The English Singer/Songwriter released his debut album in 2005. His repertoire is a mix of pop and rock. Blunt won two BRIT awards and two Ivor Novello awards for his album Back To Bedlam, as well as being nominated for 5 Grammies in 2006. His second album was released in 2007, called All The Lost Souls. He was also an Officer in the Life Guards and served under NATO in Kosovo in 1999. Subsequently he has supported Medecins Sans Frontieres amongst other charities.

Charlotte Crosswell

Charlotte Crosswell is the President and CEO of NASDAQ OMX Europe, the pan-European securities trading platform. Prior to joining NASDAQ OMX Europe, Ms. Crosswell was a Partner at Pension Corporation, a London-based pension management firm. She also had a senior role at NASDAQ in the past and was on the management team of the London Stock Exchange. She started her City career in the European equities division of Goldman Sachs.