On Sunday 13th November, at
Market Lavington care home in Devizes, several Residents enjoyed examining an assortment of military cap badges.
The badges were kindly brought in by Care Assistant Trina Hughes, who said “My husband has had these for years and just keeps them in a cupboard, but each Remembrance Day I like to bring them in so our residents can have a look at them.”
Riaz, Wellbeing Coordinator, took the badges to several Residents and a couple of the memories were triggered, which the Residents were happy to share with me.
Gwen Bullock, a Resident, recalled:
“My father belonged to the ARP. Three nights a week he would take his post at the fire station in Devizes it used to be at the Market Place. I also remember once that six bombs dropped along the canal, the locks at Cain Hill in Devizes, as we were living there in the 1940s. I was only a child. We hid in the cupboard under the stairs. I don’t think they were meant for Devizes; I think the Germans were just getting rid of their excess bombs to lose weight so they could fly quicker back to Germany. They would jettison the bombs randomly as they flew back.”
Dennis Scurrell, another Resident at the home, said:
“I was in the Royal Army Service Corp during World War 2. I would be in Dakotas, dropping supplies over France. We would be at the back of the aircraft, shoving the boxes through the open hangar doors, as flak was exploding around us. We were not harnessed to the walls of the plane either or had parachutes on us, we just had to make sure we were not too close to the edge as we pushed the supplies out! The supplies were mainly ammunition for the ground troops.
“People say I was brave but I never looked at it like that. I had a job to do and just got on with it.”
Wellbeing Coordinator, Riaz Ali, added:
“It is always clear to me that the sharing of stories and experiences from many years ago is something that is extremely important and valued by the Residents here at Market Lavington, and it is my privilege to be someone trusted enough by Residents for them to be comfortable in sharing those stories with me!”