Cornwall Hospice Care is celebrating being granted Veteran Aware status.

The Cornish healthcare charity has also achieved a silver standard for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, the Armed Forces Covenant Scheme that encourages employers to support those who have served and inspire others to do the same. The news has been shared with the charity’s staff and volunteers at three events.

The first event was held at the charity’s St Julia’s Hospice in Hayle on Tuesday, October 8 where Helen Hurst from the Veteran Covenant Healthcare Alliance (VCHA) said: “We want to reach in to the Armed Forces community to explain what hospice charities do and to encourage collaboration. I’m honoured and privileged to present Cornwall Hospice Care with their Veteran Aware status.” 

L to R Andrew Craze, Gina Starnes, Mark Thomas
L to R Andrew Craze, Gina Starnes, Mark Thomas (Submitted)

Also at the event was Councillor Louis Gardener, Cornwall Council’s Armed Forces and Veterans Champion and a former Royal Navy officer of 20 years. He said: “There are 39,000 veterans in Cornwall, the highest concentration in the country. One in five people here have a link to the Armed Forces and initiatives like this are to be welcomed and encouraged.”

Commander Richard Turrell from RNAS Culdrose added: “It’s my job to spread the word about links with charities such as Cornwall Hospice Care, with regard to health support and possible employment opportunities. These partnerships are vital especially with so many veterans having seen frontline action in more recent conflicts.“

Also attending were Andy Craze and Mark Thomas from the ‘We are with you’ charity and Cornwall Hospice Care housekeeping supervisor at St Julia’s Mark Evans who was in the RAF.

The second event took place at Cornwall Hospice Care’s Mount Edgcumbe Hospice on Thursday, October 10. Receiving the Veteran Aware status from Helen Hurst were Cornwall Hospice Care volunteer trustees Jane Stubberfield and Dominque Roberts.

MS Volunteer Trustees Jane Stubberfield (left) and Dominque Roberts (1)
MS Volunteer Trustees Jane Stubberfield (left) and Dominque Roberts (Submitted)

The third and final event was held at Cornwall Hospice Care’s warehouse and offices site in Daniel’s Lane, Holmbush, St Austell. Here veteran members of the charity’s team received the plaque declaring Veteran Aware status.

They included Chris Starnes, education lead who was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corp, Kev Rowden from the ICT team who was in the Royal Logistic Corp, Processing and Distribution Assistant Neil Rowe who was with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers and volunteer PAT Tester Trevor Skuse who recently came out of the Army.

MS From left to right Neil Rowe, Trevor Skuse, Chris Starnes and Kev Rowden
MS From left to right Neil Rowe, Trevor Skuse, Chris Starnes and Kev Rowden (Submitted)

At each event the plaque was unveiled from under a very special Red Ensign with a veteran story attached to it. Gina Starnes explains: “The flag was flying on the Merchant Ship Port Brisbane when she was attacked by the German Surface Raider ‘Pinguin’ in 1940. Captain Harry Steele was on the bridge with the apprentice. The apprentice was killed. Harry put one Red Ensign over the apprentice’s body and said the Lord’s Prayer.

“He then grabbed this flag, put it in his pocket and gave the difficult order to ‘abandon ship’. He kept this flag right through his time as a Prisoner of War and presented it to his family one of whom, Tamsin, now works for Cornwall Hospice Care. It’s in the care of her and her brother Will Mitchell and we were very honoured to borrow it for this purpose.”