Care home residents remember at Thornaby War Memorial

TEESSIDE care home residents, Mandale House Care Home, were among those to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Thornaby War Memorial.

Residents and staff from Mandale House Care Home were joined by army, navy and police cadets, civic officials and pupils from schools across the town.

Among the care home residents were Second World War Merchant Navy veteran Leonard Harnden, alongside Billy James and Peter Wilson.

Peter said:

“It was a lovely ceremony. My dad lost his leg in the war.” 

Jane Ewart, carer at Mandale House Care Home, on Acklam Road, said:

“We like to bring the residents to the ceremony as they all appreciate it. Plus, the pleasure gardens are just near Mandale House, so it’s an easy stroll for them.”

Julie Walker, customer relations officer at the Hill Care Group, which operates Mandale House Care Home, also attended the service in Thornaby.

She said:

“It’s so important to remember the sacrifices of our young men who marched off to war. And also the people who returned but continued to suffer from their experiences in the trenches of Belgium and France. My grandfather, John Godwin, and his best friend, Freddy Mennell, were conscripted in 1916. Through a great deal of luck, they both survived the war, but they could never speak of the horrors they had seen. We owe all to the people of those times a great debt. Not just the members of the armed forces but also the women who worked in the munitions factories and stepped into traditional men’s roles to keep the country going.”

Mandale House Care Home is part of the Hill Care Group. For further information visit www.hillcare.net.