23 April 2010
Zac Goldsmith visits The Royal Star & Garter Homes
Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate for Richmond Park, visited The Royal Star & Garter Charity's Richmond Home to meet the disabled ex-Service residents and answer their questions.
It was a lively debate and the questions covered a wide variety of topics but not surprisingly there were enquiries about issues that are particularly relevant to the residents such as pensions and hospitals. There was laughter when Royal Navy veteran Alma Seaton asked Mr Goldsmith "Is your visit to us going to be repeated or will you only come when there's an election?" Mr Goldsmith promised that he would try to make his visits a more regular occurrence and recalled how in his younger days he used to sell golf balls he picked up on the golf course in aid of The Royal Star & Garter Homes.
Following his visit Mr Goldsmith said: "The Star and Garter provides well-deserved support to people who fought for our country. It is a wonderful, valuable Charity and I will always support it. I have been there many times, and as a young child, I used to raise money for them by selling lost golf balls. I am always inspired when I hear the residents' stories and I'm looking forward to visiting again soon."
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes Charity - founded in 1916.
The Royal Star & Garter Charity has been caring for disabled ex-Service personnel since 1916. The Charity offers its residents the best in nursing and therapeutic care, as well as a wide variety of leisure activities both internally and at outside venues. Anyone who is physically disabled or incapacitated and has served in Her Majesty's Forces is eligible to apply for a place at a Royal Star & Garter Home, as well as the widows, spouses and partners of ex-Service people.
The Royal Star & Garter Charity is in the process of building new homes around the country to provide nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings and, for the first time, will include specialist dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The first of these prestigious new homes opened in Solihull, the West Midlands, in the summer of 2008 and has already established itself as a centre of excellence. The state-of-the-art facilities at Solihull, which will be emulated in the other new homes, will also enable the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel.
Click here to download high res pdf
PICTURE SHOWS:
Zac Goldsmith meeting a group of Royal Star & Garter residents. L to R: Jessie Millard, Martin Sutcliffe, Zac Goldsmith, Betty Probert.