A breakfast club for veterans will launch this weekend, thanks to the efforts of local man Ray Bray.

A branch of the Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club, which helps to bring together people who have served in the armed forces, will have its inaugural meeting at 9.30am this Saturday (15 February) at the Kings Café at the Talyllyn Railway.

It will then meet on the first and third Saturday of every month.

Ray, founder and lead admin of AFVBC Tywyn, was in the armed forces for just under 24 years.

He said: “There is nothing like this club for 40 miles around. It will provide a platform for ex-servicemen to meet up with each other.”

Before the formation of the branch, the nearest breakfast club was in Caernarfon.

Ray said: “When people are in the armed forces, all the amenities are in one place. When you leave, they are a lot more spread out.

“People get isolated, they don’t know who to turn to. With the breakfast club, they know that at least twice a month they can meet for breakfast with other like-minded people.

“If one veteran turns up to have breakfast with another veteran, then it is job done. It means fewer veterans are spending that time on their own.”

Tywyn Cllr Anne Lloyd Jones supports the cause.

Cllr Jones said: “I hope to be attending the breakfast club, along with Cllr Ioan Thomas from Caernarfon, and will be representing Gwynedd Council.

“This initiative is important for Tywyn as the nearest club is many miles away.

“We have many retired servicemen in the area and the breakfast club will be a meeting place for them to share memories of their time serving the country and to just generally socialise.”

Cllr Thomas added: “The breakfast club initiative at Tywyn will provide an opportunity for previous members of the armed forces and their families to get together and I’m looking forward to the opening.”