Cawood House, our care home in Brinnington, pulled out all the stops this week to pay respects to seven of its residents who served in the armed forces both at home and overseas. At the ceremony, the seven men and women received their Veteran’s Badges, which were handed out by Deputy Mayor of Stockport, Kerry Waters and Mayoress, Wendy Nadin.
Leigh Cherie speaking to the room about the story behind the Veterans Badges.
Edith Ogden (97), Vincent Burgon (89), Norman Thurston (87), Ursula ‘Jean’ Bonser (93), David Kitchen (89), Bernard Allott (92) and Lawrence Tierney (83) all served their time in the armed forces – some in the second world war and some in the Korean war. Edith was in the land army, while Bernard was a drummer.
Resident Norman Thurston pictured with his family and Deputy Mayor of Stockport, Kerry Waters and Mayoress, Wendy Nadin.
The ceremony was the culmination of months of work by the Activity and Lifestyle Facilitator at Cawood House. Leigh Cherie Jones who creates ‘magical moments’ for the residents in the care home, spent months with the veteran residents’ families sorting through photos and national insurance numbers to send to the Ministry of Defence in order to obtain the badges for the seven residents.
David and Jean after receiving their veteran’s badges at Cawood House.
The ceremony, which took place on October 30th, was extra special as all of the residents at the home have dementia, and evoked memories for the seven residents who enjoyed looking at old photos of themselves and reminiscing about their days in the armed forces. The event was filmed by an ITV crew, and the resulting feature was broadcast on national news on Monday October 30th.
The HM Armed Forces Veterans’ Lapel Badge was launched in May 2004 by the Minister for Veterans in order to assist the wider public in identifying Veterans. The first lapel badge was issued on 10 May 2004 to Lord Healey, a Veteran of the Battle for Monte Cassino. This initiated the roll out of the badge to the generation who served in the Second World War. Since then eligibility to apply for the badge has been extended in sequential phases and now all Veterans are eligible to apply
Bernard and Lawrence at the ceremony.
Guests enjoyed a wonderful buffet by Borough Care’s catering team, Poppy cupcakes by Eddie Bears, and a surprise performance from Stephen Plumb, also known as the Cheshire Bagpiper. Leigh also organised for local standard bearers and veterans to attend, with everyone holding a minute’s silence to remember those who served.
Bernard enjoying the bagpipes while being filmed for ITV news!
The feature, which was shown on ITV Granada at 6pm, and the national news at 7pm and 10pm, inspired a flurry of calls and emails to the home to congratulate and thank them for the beautiful ceremony that had held for their veteran residents. You can watch the ITV news feature here.
