The loss of the generations which fought in the two great world wars is to signal a new chapter in the history of Perthshire home for veterans.
Since 1963 the Ancaster Home in Crieff, operated by the British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association (BLESMA), has been a lifeline for current and former serving men and women from all over the country.
Whether offering permanent care to residents, enabling visitors to take a restful weekend break or helping them enjoy a range of adventurous activities, it has offered support to service users aged 19 to 99.
Thousands of pounds are raised every year for the charity and the local home by Perth and Kinross residents and serving personnel.
However, a decline in the number of people using the home has placed its future in doubt, and a deadline of next year has been set to find other interested parties to play a role in its running.
There have been concerns raised by those connected to the home and also by residents in south Perthshire about the future of Ancaster.
BLESMA general secretary Jerome Church believes the change is a sign of the times and said there was nothing for the community or users to fear.
“The home has a fantastic reputation within Crieff and indeed Scotland and it boasts some very good staff, but it now has very few permanent residents,” he told The Courier.
“The generation that has made BLESMA what it is today are leaving us and they formed the bulk of our residents, while users of respite care have also faded away.
“We do have younger service users who have been injured in conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past 10 years, but they they are decades away from needing to live in a care home.
“From a height of up to 30 residents at a time, our staff are now caring for residents in single figures.”
Mr Church said BLESMA had been keen to hand the home to “a good private operator” for some years.Sad”It is sad, but we have long planned this,” he said. “These things are never easy as we have high standards and we want to ensure that we safeguard those residents who do still require the home.
“I am quite pleased with the way things are progressing and I am confident that our 2012 deadline for finding new operators is quite achievable.
“From our members’ point of view we will continue to work to meet their needs in other ways.
“We have a large operation across the country that offers support to younger people, that is those 70 down to the age of 19.
“We are very involved in rehabilitation training and in prosthetics and we have a very strong welfare team that support people in the home and within communities.
“We are a social organisation and we all look after each other.”
He added, “This will be a new chapter for the home in Crieff and I believe it will come to be of wider use to the people of Perthshire.
“Without a doubt any new operator would want to see the home full, which is something we cannot do as we are constrained by law.
“We hope that the people of Crieff and Perthshire will continue to support the home.”
Local MP Gordon Banks has met BLESMA to discuss the way forward for the home and is keen that it continues to support veterans.
“There has been many constituency representations on this issue and locals will be aware how integrated into Crieff life the home is, and it is only natural that they will be concerned for its future,” he said.
“BLESMA has been trying for some years to find a voluntary sector partner to work with them at the Ancaster home. However, this has proved difficult to achieve.
“If this is successful I will be anxious to ensure that armed forces personnel who have lost limbs, continue to be a focus of any changed operation.”