SCHOOL pupils have put pen to paper and created designs to say thank you to the nation’s war veterans.
Pupils from Greenside School in Stevenage and Samuel Lucas School in Hitchin have created spoke guards which will be fitted to around 130 brand-new wheelchairs for brave veterans to use at Remembrance events in London this weekend.
The wheelchairs are being supplied free of charge, for the third successive year, by Hailsham-based AJM Healthcare, the leading provider of NHS wheelchair services.
AJM staff will distribute around 110 wheelchairs from a gazebo at Horse Guards Parade to enable veterans to take part in the parade there and along Whitehall, and to use for the service at The Cenotaph. A further 20 will be loaned to former soldiers attending the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday.
Representatives from AJM, who are volunteering their time over the weekend, will be available to adjust the wheelchairs to ensure the comfort of the ex-servicemen and women using them.
AJM will also provide fleecy blankets to keep the veterans warm, but the specially-designed, poppy-patterned spoke guards promise to be the star of the show.
Guy Eatherington, AJM’s Customer Relations Director said: “Everyone at AJM has been so impressed with these colourful creations and we can’t thank the schoolchildren enough.
It’s so important that we continue to mark the astonishing bravery shown by those who have been willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country and compatriots.
We are delighted to be able to loan out these wheelchairs so that our veterans are able to commemorate in person the gallantry of their former comrades and predecessors.”
Around 10,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers, sailors, airmen and women are expected to attend the Remembrance events in London, alongside ex-servicemen, members of the emergency services and civilians, to honour those who lost their lives or were seriously injured in historic conflicts.
After Remembrance weekend, all of the wheelchairs will go towards bolstering public wheelchair provision, at no additional cost to the NHS.
Alan Hadfield, NHS Wheelchair Service Operations Manager, said: “As an ex-serviceman, it is so heartwarming to see this act of kindness from AJM.
The children’s wonderful designs top it all off. They really are the perfect tribute to the men and women who have shown such courage in the line of duty.”
For more information about the services AJM Healthcare provide, visit https://www.ajmhealthcare.com/
