Veterans of Broughton House were visited by crew members from HMS Prince of Wales during the aircraft carriers visit to the north west.
The HMS Prince of Wales visited the north west for the week, when they went to receive the Freedom of the City in Liverpool.
The HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s biggest warship, and has a crew of 800, capable of carrying up to 40 aircraft.
During the crews visit to the north west, they decided to make the stop at the of Broughton House Veteran Care Village in Salford.
Broughton House is a significant place for veterans, caring for over 8,000 veterans since its doors opened to the ex-service community in 1916.
Throughout the visit crew were led by Warrant Officer Wolfie Nagel, and were given a tour of the museum, talked with staff and had lunch in the veterans’ mess.
The crew members also presented Broughton House with a plaque bearing the crest of the HMS Prince of Wales as a memento of their visit.
During the visit they also met with veterans and shared stories with one another, as Warrant Officer Nagel said: “We meet lots of members of the community and we really like to see veterans.
“The opportunity to talk to them about their experiences is a brilliant education for our crew and helps to keep the memories alive.
“It was genuinely inspiring to hear the stories of the veterans at Broughton House and to pay our respects to them.”
Warrant Officer Nagel continued: “Their eyes lit up when they were talking to us, sharing their experiences and their stories.
“It’s an amazing place, and it was wonderful to see how veterans are being taken good care of there.”
During their visit they also met residents at the home like 99-year-olds Monty Black and Cliff Butterworth, who both served in the Royal Navy during the second world war.
Monty was conscripted into the army at the age of 18 in December 1943, later transferring to the Royal Navy.
During his time in the Navy, in communications and served in Ceylon and India, gaining experience in sending Morse code messages.
With experiences and memories from the Royal Navy Monty was grateful for their visit to the care village, as he said: “Having been in the Royal Navy, it was interesting to meet the crew and to hear how they live and what they do.
“It was very nice that they came to Broughton House.”
While Cliff Butterworth joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1942 at the age of 17 and served as a deck hand on HMS Brocklesby, a Hunt-class destroyer.
His role included escorting convoys of troopships for the seaborne landings on Sicily in July 1943 and the Italian coast in September 1943, before operating in The Channel until the end of the war in Europe.
The visit itself seemed to be an inspiring one for those in attendance, including engineer technician Joe Davis-Moore, 18, from Bristol.
The young engineer was inspired to join the Royal Navy by stories of his great-grandfather John Rowles, an Able Seaman who served on HMS Wild Goose.
He said: “I really enjoyed hearing the Broughton House veterans’ stories. It was genuinely lovely to hear from them first-hand and share our different experiences.”
With the visit being an inspiring one, the veterans and care staff were offered the chance to attend a reception on board during the ship’s stay on Merseyside – with the veterans having to sadly decline “due to their frailty.”
Broughton House chief executive Karen Miller said: “Our veterans sadly had to decline a prestigious invitation to attend a reception on HMS Prince of Wales due to their frailty.
“But our disappointment soon turned to delight when crew from the ship informed us that they would make the journey from Liverpool to Broughton House.
“We can’t thank them enough for their generosity of time and kinship. We are very grateful, and wish all the crew fair winds for the future.”
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