Remembering to remember

Posted on 10 November 2020
Remembering to remember

The Royal British Legion would usually be calling on us all to come together and commemorate for Remembrance Day, but as this year continues to affect all of our lives we now find we are unable to publicly unite and remember the fallen and those who have served in wars and conflicts to ensure our freedom and safety.

Whilst talking about what we could do with our clients one of our team members, Ashleigh, suggested that we could mark this year’s commemorations by talking to each of our clients about their memories of World War 2 to create a lasting display and capture stories that maybe hadn’t been shared for many years.

Ashleigh said: “I thought of the idea because my husband is ex serving with the army so remembrance day is an important day of reflection for our family. During the difficult times with Covid I have found it comforting to hear stories of how our clients overcame hardship during the war with strength of character, community and resilience.”

This led to the whole team getting involved and hearing some of the most incredible stories and enjoying sharing a special time together. Sharing the stories did bring lots of smiles as well as some sad memories from difficult times and we have discovered a lot about the people we spend each day with.

To see a selection of some of the stories and photos visit our Facebook page and here is a taste of some of the remarkable stories we have had the privilege of hearing.

Our clients’ stories

As a schoolboy Jim remembers seeing the plane flown by Lieutenant Arthur L Brown, a 23-year-old New York man and a member of the US Army Air Force. Jim could see smoke coming from the plane and the brave pilot steered it away from the town and into open fields, which is now marked with a grave and memorial stone.

Another one of our clients has had a remarkable life having served in the Canadian Air Force and in one of his roles was flying over the Atlantic Ocean on night surveillance looking out for German submarines which were striking troops and food supplies. Mr K went on to receive 5 medals for his time in the Air Force and serving in WW2, these were: Pacific Star, Atlantic Star, Victory Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and George the V medal for enlisting without having been called up.

Geoff was also a schoolboy when the war broke out. When the heavy bombing in the Manchester Blitz began, he was evacuated to his uncles’ farm until the worst of the war was over. After he returned home he had to sleep in a Morrison shelter until the end of the war.

Tina Jones, Director and joint owner at SureCare Central Cheshire said: “We have really enjoyed listening to our clients stories and hope that you enjoy sharing in these memories as we all take a little time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and still do today, and to hear first hand from those who remember those difficult days of World War 2.”

Tina went on to say: “We would like to thank all of our clients and their families for allowing us to share these most wonderful memories.”