City war heroes get £90,000

A Sheffield MP and Second World War hero joined forces to officially launch a £90,000 support scheme for older veterans.

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central, joined 88-year-old former Army Corporal John Brown to launch Age UK Sheffield’s Mission Possible: Active service in later life’ programme.

Age UK Sheffield has been awarded £90,000 of funding through the Aged Veterans Fund to run the three-year scheme which will provide a dedicated Independent Living Coordinator service to 300 veterans born before January 1950.

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Paul Blomfield said: “It was great to hear John’s stories about his time in the Army and spend time with someone who has served our country with such great distinction.

“John obviously enjoys his visits to Age UK Sheffield’s Wellbeing centre, which shows what a vital service it is for people like him and the respite it provides for carers.”

The service will provide holistic independence support for up to three months, to ensure older people are maximising their income and to help them improve their physical and mental wellbeing by reviewing their health, housing, consumer and social needs.

John, who lives with his wife Molly in the Manor, attends Age UK Sheffield’s Wellbeing Centre on Mondays.

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A former Royal Signals Army Corporal, he started his initial 12-week army training at Catterick at the age of 20 and went on to serve in Germany, Holland and Austria as part of a peace-keeping mission after the Second World War.

While in Austria, John served as Superintendent in charge of the signal officer and co-ordinated the tele-printer and wireless rooms.

Age UK Sheffield Chief Steve Chu said: “We work with many older veterans, but we often only discover that they served in the military during conversation.

“We hope this funding will allow us to reach even more older people across the city who served this country with pride.”