Caithness war veteran (98) among those benefiting from free hot meals
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A £1000 grant has been awarded to Royal British Legion Scotland in Caithness to help deliver free hot meals direct to pensioners and veterans during the coronavirus pandemic.
The funding comes from North Highland Initiative (NHI) Community Support Programme, launched three months ago.
Ninety-eight-year-old former sailor Richard Polanski, of Dunbeath is the eldest veteran in the region to benefit from the new service, which is providing regular three-course meals and companionship to some 35 elderly residents in Wick, Watten, Berriedale and the wider area.
Born in Poland in 1921, Mr Polanski is one of the last men still alive to see Hitler’s flagship Bismarck in its death throes. Determined to fight for his country’s freedom, he joined the Free Polish Navy as a gunner, helping to evacuate troops from Dunkirk in the spring of 1940 aboard the destroyer ORP Burza.
After the war had ended, Mr Polanski fled his homeland when the Germans and Soviets invaded, eventually reaching Britain and settling in Caithness with his wife Joyce Burns Rosie, whom he met in Glasgow.
Mr Polanski and other elderly residents will be able to enjoy carefully prepared hot meals in the comfort of their own home, thanks to Legion Scotland.
The funding comes just in time for Armed Forces Day on Saturday, June 27.
The meal delivery service will also allow the RBLS team to offer a friendly ear to those in need and check the wellbeing of those who have had limited or no face-to-face contact with others during lockdown.
Legion Scotland makes a difference every day to the lives of Scotland’s veterans by providing community, friendship and practical advice, whether they left military service recently or more than 50 years ago.
The Legion Scotland project is also being supported by Mackays Hotel in Wick. Murray Lamont, a member of the local Legion branch and owner of Mackays Hotel, said: “We’re really grateful to the North Highland Initiative for its financial support to help our veterans and pensioners get through this very challenging time.
"We’re now able to make sure our elderly community get regular hot meals, as well as the companionship they may need while continuing to self-isolate at home.
“Here at Mackays Hotel, we’re an independent, family-run business and are extremely proud to have been an integral part of our local community in Caithness for 60 years. Never has that been more apparent to us than during the lockdown, where the community has really pulled together to support each other.
“Since lockdown, the family and our chef, Kuba, have continued to work flat out at the hotel to create tasty and nutritious takeaway meals and deliveries for those that need it. Our meals-on-wheels deliveries are hitting the roads around Caithness, with help from my wife Ellie and daughter Jennifer.”
Launched in March, the NHI Community Support Programme is awarding grants of up to £1000 for small initiatives in the education, conservation, and community service and support sectors in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire.
Priority is being given to those initiatives where government support packages are unable to help, and those ineligible for emergency grants.
NHI chairman David Whiteford said: “We’re delighted to be able to support Royal British Legion Scotland and our north Highland veterans as we celebrate Armed Forces Day.
“In particular, it’s great to see how the NHI Community Support Programme has been able to help people like Richard Polanski, who has had such a remarkable life and naval career. We’d like to thank him for his service to the country and wish him all the best for Armed Forces Day.
“Our adapted NHI support fund is helping communities that are experiencing particular hardship as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Our aim is to target areas, projects and local initiatives for which government support packages may not be able to assist, and those ineligible for emergency funding.
“With a limit of £1000 of funding per project available, this allows us to provide multiple smaller grants aimed at reaching out to as many communities as possible and we now want to encourage even more community groups from across the north Highlands to apply.”
For more information about the Community Support Programme, and to apply for funding, visit www.northhighlandinitiative.co.uk/community-support-covid19 and follow on social media.
