Plans to name veteran centre after co-founder

Plans have been announced to rename a veterans charity headquarters in Nuneaton after the local man who co-founded the organisation.

Len Hardy BEM served for 25 years in the Army and helped start the Veterans Contact Point (VCP) as a community organisation in 2009, before it became a registered charity in 2012.

VCP aims to support veterans in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, but began by helping veterans who were being supervised by the probation service or had been in prison.

Mr Hardy died in September 2025, and the move to rename the VCP's site at the Horsa Building in Bentley Road was announced at a memorial service for him at Coventry Cathedral.

"His name is synonymous with the VCP/Horsa building so it is a fitting tribute to a man who gave over 50 years of military, community and voluntary service that the building will bear his name," said councillor Edward Harris, chairman of Warwickshire County Council and chairman of the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership.

President of the VCP, Prof Damian Griffin added: "We are so pleased that Warwickshire County Council is able to do this.

"Naming our headquarters in Nuneaton after Len will give us a lasting memorial to him and reminder of all the work he did to establish the charity and enhance the care for veterans across the county."

Mr Hardy moved to Warwickshire at 15 when he joined the Army as a junior leader at Gamecock Barracks, Bramcote, Nuneaton.

He also spent some time with 29 Commando Regiment, which specialises in amphibious operations, mountain, desert, jungle and arctic warfare.

Upon leaving the Army, he worked in the criminal justice sector, providing rehabilitation services.

It was here he became aware of how many veterans were in the criminal justice system, which led him to begin his voluntary work to support veterans in the county.

VCP worked out of a small room in Nuneaton Town Hall after being set up in 2009, and Mr Hardy went on to secure the Horsa building - a disused school building in the grounds of Queens Church of England Academy.

In August, the charity celebrated a 20-year lease extension at the site, meaning it will continue to work from there until at least 2042.

He was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2019 for his work with veterans in Warwickshire.

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