A north-east veteran is working doubly hard this month to ensure not a single ex-serviceman or woman is forgotten this Christmas.
Last winter, Joyce MacMillan fell ill and spent some lonely days at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, as her daughter Fiona, lives 100 miles away in Fife before a veteran’s charity boosted her spirits by organising a visitor to pop in.
Since then she has been working hard to tackle loneliness among her fellow veterans – urging people to consider visiting them in hospital, or checking in on them locally.
She has also been using her charity shop, Privates on Parade – shortened to Pops in memory of her late father – in Fraserburgh as a foodbank during lockdown, and in the run-up to Christmas has been preparing to expanding the support she offers by moving to a bigger premises.
Veteran Joyce MacMillan from Fraserburgh. Pic by Chris SumnerThe 63-year-old has also also just been made Scottish coordinator of the charity Forgotten Veterans UK, (FVUK)and she is determined to help those most at risk of isolation this winter.
The former nursing stewardess with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps opened her first charity shop four years ago and has spent the past 12 months helping homeless veterans in the north-east.
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In July, she relocated her shop to Mid Street, where she’s looking to a “bigger and better future” once an official opening can be safely held.
“I have to move quite quickly,” she said. “We had food donated in and it was point of working with what we had and gathering more donations. We’ve lately been able to donate Christmas gifts and clothes to people in need too.
“It’s going to be a better layout with more shop space and less storage. We have big plans for it and I’m getting support and help from Forgotten Veterans UK. Their motto is ‘ Selfless Commitment to Others’ and the reason I’m involved with them is because they run the Basha Retreat which helps people like myself who live with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
“We’ll have an official opening once it’s done but until then it’s great to see the new signs with the charity name and images of my late father going up.”
And between her work at the shop, Ms MacMillan is doing her best to tackle loneliness at a time when many are too wary to socialise within the loosened restrictions.
“Please all stay safe just now with everything that is going on.” she added. “I am always at the end of a phone if someone wants a chat.”
In the past four years Ms MacMillan and her volunteers have helped rehome more than a dozen veterans in Fraserburgh and supported at least a dozen more.
Those efforts found praise in the Scottish Parliament’s annual veterans update earlier this month too, with north-east MSP Peter Chapman commending both the work the armed forces and, in particular, Pops, has done in the region.
“The role of the armed services during the nation’s most recent time of need, Covid-19, cannot be overstated,” Mr Chapman said.
“From setting up hospitals and ensuring that mobile testing units were available, to supporting care homes and rural areas with local testing, including in Peterhead, it is reassuring to know that, once more, in our time of need, the armed forces are ready and able to step up and support us.
“Joyce is a real enthusiast, and with her team around her, she makes a real difference to our veterans in the north-east. I thank Joyce for her dedication.
“Towns like Fraserburgh have a huge number of veterans which is why it’s vital no one should slip through the net.”
