Remembrance 2022: Royal Star & Garter veterans take part in services at Cenotaph and in the Homes

High Wycombe residents Michael and Richard, with Michael’s daughter and staff from the Home. (Image supplied by Royal Star & Garter)

Veterans from Royal Star & Garter were among those to attend the National Service at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday 13th November 2022.

Four residents from the charity’s Surbiton and High Wycombe Homes attended the service in London.

Services were also held across Royal Star & Garter’s three Homes in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe on Armistice Day, Friday 11th November 2022.

The Armistice Day services at the Homes featured buglers and readings. At 11.00am residents observed the two-minute silence and poppy wreaths were laid.

At Surbiton, the service was attended by Kingston Mayor, Councillor Yogan Yoganathan, and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Nicola Nardelli.

In High Wycombe, Councillor Mimi Harker, Buckinghamshire Council’s Armed Forces Champion, attended and gave a reading.

Navy veteran Jim lays a wreath at the High Wycombe Home’s 2022 Armistice Day service. (Image supplied by Royal Star & Garter)

In Solihull, members of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) attended.

Among those from the Surbiton Home to attend the National Service at the Cenotaph was Connie, who served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service during WWII. She has regularly attended Liberation Day services in the Netherlands for decades, but this was her first time at the National Service.

Army veteran Michael is a resident at Royal Star & Garter in High Wycombe and was joined at the Cenotaph service by his daughter Sarah who said: ‘Dad used to work nearby at the Ministry of Defence, so being here brought back so many memories for him. It was really special for me to be here with him. It’s creating shared memories we can talk about together. I’ll be able to share with the family and they’ll be pleased to know he had this lovely opportunity.‘

In the run-up to Remembrance, celebrated artist Lucy Freud visited the Surbiton Home to lead special painting classes with residents. In Solihull, residents visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, where they laid a wreath. While in High Wycombe, residents made poppies out of tissue paper.

Residents in all three Homes took part in Remembrance activities, such as poppy and wreath-making.

This year Royal Star & Garter’s Remembrance campaign, ‘They gave their all for us‘, highlighted how young some of the charity’s residents were when they joined the Armed Forces and looked at how Royal Star & Garter is able to give back to them each day through its award-winning care.

Further information and details on how to support the ‘They gave their all for us‘ campaign can be found on the Royal Star & Garter website at www.starandgarter.org/gavetheirall.

Royal Star & Garter provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia. Royal Star & Garter is welcoming new residents in its three Homes. Further information and details on working for the charity can be found on the Royal Star & Garter website at www.starandgarter.org.

*Source of information : Press release from Royal Star & Garter.