Abstract: Today, much is written and broadcast about social isolation and loneliness in wider society but little has been done to explore its impact within the Armed Forces Community, nor especially the associated impact arising from bereavement as experienced by military widows. Before being bereaved, their lives alongside their serving partners may well have already exposed them to some social dislocation or trauma, resulting in feelings of loneliness and separation from family and loved ones. But nothing is likely to compare to the loss of a partner, nor prepare a military widow for what may be the consequent schism in family and social relationships, to family and household incomes or for the challenge of accepting a new reality in their lives and seeking support. Military widows may be a small, sometimes even invisible cohort in wider UK society, but that cannot excuse a lack of consideration of their circumstances and experience. This report begins to address this deficit and seeks to focus on the specific, but multi-faceted factors of military widowhood. It reveals the sensitivities surrounding terminology and how bereavement occurred, the unintended but real hurt imparted by officialdom and bureaucracy, the barriers to accessing support and the potential impact on health and well-being. But the report also recognises there is more to understand in terms of longer-term consequences, of the value of peer-support models and the nuances of bereavement within the Armed Forces Community as distinct from more generalisable experience. Forces in Mind Trust’s mission is that all ex-service persons and their families make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life. For those who experience bereavement, that transition is more immediate, traumatic and sometimes more unprepared for than most. So, this report is to be welcomed in developing understanding of need and informing future mitigation measures that can make a real difference. We recognise the contribution military partners have made to the success of their serving paRtner’s career and acknowledge the role of relationships in supporting the lives that follow service. This aspect is no less important for those forging that new life after bereavement and I commend this report’s analysis and findings to all those concerned with supporting this small but significant element of our Armed Forces Community.