The newly formed ‘Black Rats’ force at the 4th Infantry Brigade Headquarters Northeast and Yorkshire have proudly supported Newcastle’s 2021 Mela Festival. The festival was back on this year on bank holiday weekend in August in Exhibition Park after being cancelled last year due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.
A Mela is a festival, gathering and celebration that originates from India. The word Mela translates to “meeting” or “gathering” in Hindi. Mela’s are now held all around the world by people wanting to celebrate, share, and indulge in their South Asian culture and heritage that is loved by all different types of people and communities.
The first Newcastle Mela was first held in 1993, celebrating Pakistani, Bengali, Indian and other South Asian cultures through music, dance, art, food, culture, and more. Today, up to 40,000 people take part in the festival making it one of the most vibrant and popular multi-cultural events in the North East.
Providing support and interactive activities for all to enjoy at the family-friendly event were the ‘Black Rats’, a task force from the 4th Infantry Brigade and Headquarters North East.
The force is the lead light brigade in the newly formed Joint Expeditionary Force (Land force), which provides soldiers in small to medium operations across the world.
After not being able to engage with the people of Newcastle for almost two years due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Major Kate Hannaford has spent the last few months preparing to showcase ‘Your army’ to people across the North East through project managing, creating cohesion across units, and creating interactive activities.
Alongside creating activities at the Mela, Major Hannaford has supported over thirty different activities within the area including the Rugby League Magic Weekend, the Newcastle Festival of Rescue, and the Armed Forces Business Challenge and Youth Skills Day.
Major Hannaford said: “We have loved engaging with local people and inspiring businesses and young people.
“Our soldiers from across the region have shown they are role models that will hopefully inspire people in the North East.”
Major Hannaford has been in the army for two decades, rising to the rank of ‘Major’ through hard work and dedication.
She said: “The army has given me so many opportunities to be the best person I can be. Through exercises and operations, I have grown as a person and a leader.
“It is an honour to lead soldiers on both home turf and overseas. One of the highlights of my career so far has been my involvement in the Ministry of Defences UK Operations this year and last in support of the Department of Health and Social Care delivering a team of soldiers to support mobile testing and vaccinations across the North East.”
Taj Mohammed, Chair of Newcastle Asian Arts and Music (NAAM) and Event Director for Newcastle Mela said: “We have been absolutely delighted and honoured to work with the British Army once again at this year’s event.
“Newcastle Mela is one of the longest-running and most exciting cultural events within our region and it has been wonderful for our thousands of visitors to meet personnel from Fifth Fusiliers, 103 Field Squadron Royal Engineers and Northumberland Army Cadet Force, who provided a range of superb activities including the climbing wall, assault course and paintball range.”
Mr Mohammed went on to say that: “Newcastle Mela is a multi-cultural event, with a diverse crowd of all ages and backgrounds and it was incredible to see the wonderful interaction between the army personnel and visitors.
“The British Army’s Recruiting Groups were also present, and I’m delighted that there seemed to be a lot of interest. I’d also like to say a huge and special thanks to Major Kate Hannaford and Sergeant Tony Bateman, whose support has been tireless and their contribution invaluable in helping to make this year’s event such a huge success.”
Major Hannaford is now busy planning events to create more engagement with people in Leeds in November. “We look forward to interacting with businesses and people in Yorkshire across many events including a Leeds United game, a Leeds Rhino game, sports teams, faith groups, academies, schools and colleges.
“The programme we have planned is fun and exciting and links to Remembrance activities that will be going on across Yorkshire in November. Educational organisations and businesses can join us on our team days on either Friday 12 November or Thursday 18 November in Leeds and they can do this by searching for tickets on Eventbrite.
