wisconsin troops home

Leslie Wakinshaw was considering selling his house until he contacted Age Concern and Help the Aged, and discovered he was entitled to benefits

I’m a 90-year-old war veteran. I consider myself a Geordie, coming as I do from Tyneside, but I am a Sunderland supporter. I have never voted in my whole life and I don’t intend to do so now.

I am one of the last survivors of the second world war evacuation at Dunkirk. The Medway Queen, the paddle steamer that saved my life, rescued 7,000 British troops in several return trips across the Channel. If the Mary Rose is worth saving, then what we call “the heroine of Dunkirk” certainly is. Whenever I have a birthday, I don’t ask for presents, but I ask my family to dig deep in their chequebooks for the Medway Queen Preservation Society, to rebuild her and get her afloat.

I worked until I was over 80, running my own catering business. When I retired, I found it hard living off less than £100 a week, and my small nest-egg was slowly disappearing.

I had no idea I was entitled to anything until my daughter recommended I speak to Age Concern and Help the Aged. I was considering selling my house because I couldn’t afford to keep it. My boiler had broken down and my bedroom was damp. The staff at the charity helped me to claim pension credit and council tax benefit. For health reasons, I also receive attendance allowance – I call the nurses who come to my home to look after me “angels of mercy”.

Within a month, my weekly income had doubled to over £200. I also received backdated benefits. The charity put me in touch with Anchor Staying Put, who helped me with repairs to my home.

Thanks to my benefits and a family that supports me, I have a good standard of life.

I come from the older generation that worries about money all the time. Had it not been for Age Concern and Help the Aged, I would be struggling to get by. They have helped me return to my situation before I retired, what I call “poor middle-class”.

I go out every day meeting friends, playing bingo, going to the coffee shop and working men’s club. At home, I prefer listening to the radio. It means I can do other things at the same time. I have always been interested in big bands and dance music, and like to discuss music with my younger relatives.

As a matter of fact, I would like to be able to use a computer. Seeing my grandchildren use a laptop, it makes it look so easy – and they are able to keep in touch with our relatives in Australia via the internet. But I have difficulty even texting on my mobile.

To younger generations I would just say, enjoy life as well as you can and do unto others as you would want them do to you.