Alex Laird, a resident at Strachan House, can always be heard telling his stories of his days in the military, so staff at the home made those memories come back to life with a trip to Edinburgh Castle.
Alex has lived at Strachan House for a short time. Staff and residents love his stories of his days gone by serving in the Army. Alex started his military career in 1944 when he joined the Royal Scots Regiment. Shortly after in 1945 he got to volunteer serving with the Indian army in the 15th Punjab Regiment and is often heard telling others about his wonderful adventures as well as his cheeky antics he got up to.
One story that he shares is of when the war ended: “I was protecting the Bay of Bengal when we heard news the war had ended. With no TV, radio or newspapers I learnt over our comms system that the Germans had surrender some 24 hours beforehand.
“I remember looking at my watch it said 7am and thinking: that’s it, the wars over and at least for my friends their fight has ended. That same evening as darkness fell upon us I have vivid memories of me and my comrades singing in celebration, only to wake up the next morning to the sound of shelling as we continued our mission to protect the bay.”
Staff at the home saw how Alex was passionate of all things military and how proud he was to of served in the war, so staff wanted to ensure his heroic past was recognised .
The Royal Scots Museum houses an array of paintings, artefacts and medals from the formation of the regiment to its present day. So for Alex it was a real walk down the castle cobbled memory lane as he immersed himself in all the history that surrounded him with his visit to the castle.
In response to this wonderful surprise Alex said: “It was so touching to know my efforts during the war were appreciated. It is such an amazing feeling to know that staff recognised what was so important to me and cared enough to spring this surprise on me.
“What an incredible afternoon I had. It truly meant a lot to me.“
Gordon Philp, General Manager at the home, said: “We want everyone we care for to know how important they are to us here at Strachan House
“It was so nice to see how happy Alex was – and to be able to say thank you for everything he done for his country all those years ago.”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
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