Brave Chester care home residents awarded for their military service

A Chester care home hosted a special celebration to honour its veterans as they were presented with medals for their time serving in the military. 

Pauline Corner, Roy Griffiths and Brian Baxter received their official service medals at Care UK’s Deewater Grange, on Chester Road, where a celebratory lunch and ceremony was held.

The veterans were surrounded by friends and family as they enjoyed a three-course meal before being presented with their medals by special guest Captain Kevin Mighall, of The Queen’s Own Yeomanry, Fox Barracks, Chester.

Pauline, 86, aspired to have a career in the Royal Air Force and joined in the late 1950s. After completing basic training, she was stationed at RAF Shawbury, where her career began to take shape. 

During this time, she met Harold and fell in love. Harold proposed, but military policies at the time discouraged married couples from serving together. As a result, Pauline’s career in the RAF was short-lived, ending after two years. However, she and Harold enjoyed a long and happy marriage of over 60 years until he sadly passed away last year. 

On being awarded her service medal, Pauline said: “I was extremely proud and very honoured to have been recognised.”

Roy, 88, was at the start of his career as a printer, preparing to begin his apprenticeship, when he was called up for national service in the 1940s. Although he had not initially considered a military career, he served with the Royal Signals and was stationed in Germany for two years. Roy looks back on his time in the Army with fondness and no regrets. 

The third veteran at Deewater Grange, Brian, dreamed of joining the Royal Navy to see the world. A well-educated young man, he successfully completed his basic training, but his linguistic skills changed the course of his career. Fluent in Russian, Brian was deemed more valuable as an intelligence asset rather than being deployed at sea. In 1958, he was assigned to a post in Scotland, where he spent his naval career monitoring Russian communications. 

The 79-year-old said: “I am very pleased to have received this special honour.”

Alongside the three residents, the care home’s chefs Lloyd Harrison and Ian Stevens were also recognised with medals for their previous service in the military. 

Deewater Grange has recently been awarded Veteran Friendly status, which is given to care homes that note Armed Forces status within care plans, address social isolation and signpost residents and their families to support services such as the local Royal British Legion branch and other charities, which provide support for veterans or partners of veterans.

The Veteran Friendly Framework (VFF) is a collaboration between Armed Forces charities Royal Star & Garter and Royal British Legion, and NHS Veterans’ Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA), with funding support from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

The presentation afternoon was rounded off with the cutting of a special celebration cake prepared by the home’s Head Chef.

Sally Cooper, Home Manager at Deewater Grange, said: “It was a really lively afternoon and a memorable occasion for the proud veterans living at Deewater Grange. It was an honour to see them receiving their medals from Captain Kevin Mighall.

“We pride ourselves on being warm and inclusive to all and with many veterans in our home, it is important for us to ensure we can provide the right environment for them to lead fulfilling lives. 

“A huge congratulations to Pauline, Roy and Brian and our chefs Lloyd and Ian, and thank you to everyone who came to the event to celebrate with us – we look forward to welcoming more veterans from the community into our home in the near future.”

Deewater Grange is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, dementia and nursing care, as well as short-term respite care. The home has been designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives, while also promoting independence, and incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, including its own café, bar, cinema, and a hair and beauty salon. The layout of the building is configured into a series of individual suites, each having a dedicated lounge/dining room to help facilitate the creation of close-knit communities.