Horndean care home resident reconnects with lifelong passion

A resident at a Horndean care home has rekindled her love for life below the waves with a surprise trip to a local museum. 

 

Rowena Kinsella, 99 and resident at Care UK’s Pear Tree Court on Portsmouth Road, has always had a passion for submarines and even married a submariner in her late husband, Richard Kinsella.

Keen to revisit her passion, the care home team arranged a surprise trip to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, where Rowena enjoyed exploring the different models and reading about the crews and how they managed the boats.

Eager to share her late husband’s own experience as a mariner, Rowena discussed with team members at the museum about Richard’s time fighting alongside US forces during the second world war.

Commenting on her visit, Rowena said: “I really enjoy history, so I was in my element looking at the history of the submarines and how they used to run. It is interesting to have a look at life on the submarines and to see how the people on board had to live. The food rations and living quarters. I also enjoyed looking at all the submarines in and around the museum and getting to go inside some of them.”

Rowena was joined by fellow residents Peter Ambrose, 81, and Peter Moonan, 72. Peter Ambrose, who received an OBE for his service as a commander in the Royal Navy, enjoyed climbing aboard one of the largest submarines on the site, while Peter Moonan was surprised to find a photo of his own crew in the museum. He named all his past friends and remembered watching the photo being taken. 

The visit was part of Care UK’s Wishing Tree initiative, which encourages residents to put their ambitions forward, allowing them to reconnect with a past hobby or try something completely new.

Aimee Sparks, Home Manager at Pear Tree Court, said: “It was fantastic to see residents reminisce about their own experiences with submarines and enjoy a great day out at the museum through a shared passion. 

“It’s incredibly important to us that they live independent and rewarding lives and have opportunities to reconnect with their past experiences and passions. 

“We would like to thank the team at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum for helping make Rowena’s wish come true – the residents haven’t stopped talking about it since we returned home!”

Pear Tree Court is a state-of-the-art care home that provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema, pub and hair and beauty salon, and boasts plenty of space both indoors and out for relaxation and recreation.