Armed forces veterans shared memories over mince pies and coffee at a festive gathering to show Westmorland and Furness Council’s commitment to those who have served their country.
Councillor Matt Severn, Chair of Westmorland and Furness Council, and Linda Jones, the council’s Chief Legal and Monitoring Officer and Armed Forces Lead Officer, invited former Army, Royal Navy and RAF servicemen and women to Kendal Town Hall in gratitude for their many years of loyal service.
Cllr Severn said: “This event arose from our chats with veterans on Remembrance Sunday. They have made such great sacrifices and borne huge burdens with grit, courage and humour. We wanted to give them a space to share their stories with council representatives and each other. As a council we want to do more for the veterans and have things happening more regularly.”
The Royal British Legion’s Kendal branch spread the word about the event via community groups on Facebook and its regular breakfast club at Wetherspoon’s pub in Kendal.
The branch’s new Chair is Chris Maycock, retired Lieutenant Colonel, and former Defence Attaché for Albania and Montenegro, who said: “It’s so incredibly important that veterans are supported. It’s not that they are unique or victims, it’s the fact that a lot of veterans like to be with other veterans. There are lots of good things happening and we’d like to see functions like this happening more often.”
It was Chris who suggested the mince pies for the Christmas gathering be supplied by Kendal’s Little Miss Bakery, which is owned by veteran Darren Hopton.
Paul Corrie, a former Regimental Foreman in the Royal Signals with 34 years’ service, welcomed the council bringing veterans together.
He said: “It means we can meet up with colleagues that you might only see once a year on Armistice Day. If anyone is maybe having difficulties with their mental health or their relationship, they can come here and have a chat with fellow colleagues who might be able to help.”
Former Royal Marine Gary Kniveton described the coffee and mince pie gathering as “first class”.
He said: “It’s hopefully going to raise the profile of our veterans in the community, and the older veterans especially love to sit round the table and have a good old natter.”
Raymond Brown, a Sergeant in the Scots Guards in the 1950s and an ambulance station officer for 37 years, said; “It’s good to meet up with people. I’ve been in uniform since I was ten years old when I joined the Army Cadets.”
Ken Ayre, a submariner for 12 years, went on to build subs at Vickers’ shipyard in Barrow. Remembering Christmas at sea, he said: “The Captain used to have a religious service at the front end or by the torpedo tubes.” Roast turkey for 60 men was cooked in a tiny galley and served to “the boys” by the officers.
Attending with his wife Shirley was former submariner Keith Newman, who served in the Royal Navy for 24 years, including three Christmases on patrol in the North Atlantic.
Keith recalled: “There were no communications but Shirley could send me 40 words every week, transmitted by low frequency radio.”
Dave Nelson, son of former Mayor of Kendal Mike Nelson, served 25 years as an Infantry Officer in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and elsewhere. “There’s always an element of connectivity when you get Armed Forces people together,” he said, with the Christmas gathering creating the right kind of environment where veterans could ask for help if they needed it.
Linda Jones said she hoped it would be the first of many occasions when council members and officers could meet informally with former veterans and their families to offer recognition as well as practical support and guidance.
She said: “We felt it was important to invite them for mince pies and to wish them Merry Christmas to thank them for everything that they’ve done.”
In June, Westmorland and Furness Council Leader Councillor Jonathan Brook, who also met with veterans at this week’s event, signed the national Armed Forces Covenant on behalf of the authority This means the council recognises the value of serving personnel, veterans, Reserve Forces and military families, and promises to ensure those that serve or have served, and their families, will be treated fairly and will not be disadvantaged by their military life.
The council has three Armed Forces Champions to advocate on behalf of the Armed Forces Covenant in their localities. These are Councillor Bill McEwan for Furness, Councillor Mike Eyles for Eden and Councillor Vicky Hughes for South Lakeland.