Gordon and Joining Forces
The Joining Forces programme has now ended
Joining Forces was an Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust supported programme in partnership with SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity. It was delivered by 12 local projects across England by local Age UKs and SSAFA branches. After 3 successful years, the programme has now ended. Many of the pages in this section will still be useful for information and advice. Alternatively, you can look at the relevant sections of the Age UK website.
When we visited Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland recently, 94-year-old Gordon told us all about his experiences and how Joining Forces has benefitted him in the years since his military career.
Watch our video to hear what he had to say.
During World War Two, Gordon served in the Leicester Regiment (Tigers) and is a D-Day veteran, having landed in Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy. “You could be alive one day and you could be dead the next,” says Gordon of the perilous situations he and his unit found themselves in when reinforcing other units that had suffered heavy casualties on D-Day.
Gordon was later wounded by a sniper while in Belgium, saved only by a piece of his kit. “If it hadn’t been for my mess tin, I wouldn’t be here now,” he explains.
Sadly for Gordon, most of his comrades are no longer here now, having been killed in combat or having passed away in the years since the war. “All my friends are gone,” says Gordon. “Not very nice.”
Thankfully Joining Forces came into Gordon’s life at the right time, and he’s full of praise for the positive effect it’s had on his life. “Joining Forces is one of the best things I could ever wish for anybody to join. “If I wanted anything I could ask and they’d tell me what to do.”