Royal Navy veteran issues heartfelt Remembrance Day plea

An 85-year-old Royal Navy veteran, George Walker, has issued a heartfelt plea for Remembrance Day, urging the public to extend their thoughts beyond those who fell in conflict to the families left behind. Mr Walker’s own life was shaped by such a loss; he was just four years old when he met his father, Harry, for the only time before he was killed at sea during the Second World War. Harry, then 27, served in the trawler fleet under the Merchant Navy & Reserved Occupations. He died in 1943 when his ship, the Strathlyon, struck a mine off Iceland. Mr Walker, who now lives at Erskine’s Veterans Home in Edinburgh, is calling for the nation to honour the relatives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. He said: “When the silence falls at 11am (on 11 November), my mind always goes straight to my father. “He died so young, just 27, and I never had the chance to know him. I often wonder what kind of man he was, what kind of father he might have been to me, and what life would have been like if he had come home. “That gap has always been there, it shaped me as a boy, and it still shapes me now as a man. “I’ve carried him with me all my life, even without knowing him. Remembrance Day is when that feeling is at its strongest. “It’s not just about soldiers on the battlefield, it’s about the empty chairs at the table, the children who grew up without parents, and the families who had to find a way to carry on. That’s what remembrance truly means to me.” He said he will also be thinking of his stepfather who was in the Merchant Navy during the war and was then a skipper in a trawler. Mr Walker himself enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of 16 after persuading his mother to sign his papers. Between 1956 and 1966 he served as a Seaman Gunner, protecting trawlers around Iceland, taking part in operations in Cyprus, and spending 18 months stationed in Borneo at the height of the conflict there. He later joined the Merchant Navy, with voyages taking him to Kuwait, the United States and the Philippines. Looking back on his career he said: “I suppose I’ve been lucky in my own way; I’ve lived what I call nine lives. “I’ve been shipwrecked off Iceland and pulled out of freezing water when I could so easily have been lost. “I’ve patrolled during the Cold War when tensions were high and danger was never far away. Later I fought cancer and thought my time was nearly up, but I pulled through. “Every time I’ve survived, I’ve thought about those who didn’t, my friends, people who were just as brave as me but didn’t come home. I think about them every November.” Mr Walker said that life after leaving the Forces is not always easy but that Erskine has helped him feel that he belongs again. He said: “You lose the uniform, the camaraderie, the purpose. Sometimes you can feel forgotten or left behind. “That’s why Erskine matters so much. Here, I feel like I belong again. The staff, the care, the company has all given me dignity and independence in this stage of my life. “Erskine makes sure veterans like me are not forgotten, and on Remembrance Day that means everything.” Wing Commander Ian Cumming MBE, Erskine’s chief executive, said: “George’s story is a reminder that the impact of service runs through generations. “His reflections capture the true meaning of Remembrance, and our daily work here at Erskine, not only honouring those who gave their lives but supporting those who still live with its consequences.”

Mr Walker’s own life was shaped by such a loss; he was just four years old when he met his father, Harry, for the only time before he was killed at sea during the Second World War.

Harry, then 27, served in the trawler fleet under the Merchant Navy & Reserved Occupations.

He died in 1943 when his ship, the Strathlyon, struck a mine off Iceland.

Mr Walker, who now lives at Erskine’s Veterans Home in Edinburgh, is calling for the nation to honour the relatives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

He said: “When the silence falls at 11am (on 11 November), my mind always goes straight to my father.

“He died so young, just 27, and I never had the chance to know him. I often wonder what kind of man he was, what kind of father he might have been to me, and what life would have been like if he had come home.

“That gap has always been there, it shaped me as a boy, and it still shapes me now as a man.

“I’ve carried him with me all my life, even without knowing him. Remembrance Day is when that feeling is at its strongest.

“It’s not just about soldiers on the battlefield, it’s about the empty chairs at the table, the children who grew up without parents, and the families who had to find a way to carry on. That’s what remembrance truly means to me.”

He said he will also be thinking of his stepfather who was in the Merchant Navy during the war and was then a skipper in a trawler.

Mr Walker himself enlisted in the Royal Navy at the age of 16 after persuading his mother to sign his papers.

Between 1956 and 1966 he served as a Seaman Gunner, protecting trawlers around Iceland, taking part in operations in Cyprus, and spending 18 months stationed in Borneo at the height of the conflict there.

He later joined the Merchant Navy, with voyages taking him to Kuwait, the United States and the Philippines.

Looking back on his career he said: “I suppose I’ve been lucky in my own way; I’ve lived what I call nine lives.

“I’ve been shipwrecked off Iceland and pulled out of freezing water when I could so easily have been lost.

“I’ve patrolled during the Cold War when tensions were high and danger was never far away. Later I fought cancer and thought my time was nearly up, but I pulled through.

“Every time I’ve survived, I’ve thought about those who didn’t, my friends, people who were just as brave as me but didn’t come home. I think about them every November.”

Mr Walker said that life after leaving the Forces is not always easy but that Erskine has helped him feel that he belongs again.

He said: “You lose the uniform, the camaraderie, the purpose. Sometimes you can feel forgotten or left behind.

“That’s why Erskine matters so much. Here, I feel like I belong again. The staff, the care, the company has all given me dignity and independence in this stage of my life.

“Erskine makes sure veterans like me are not forgotten, and on Remembrance Day that means everything.”

Wing Commander Ian Cumming MBE, Erskine’s chief executive, said: “George’s story is a reminder that the impact of service runs through generations.

“His reflections capture the true meaning of Remembrance, and our daily work here at Erskine, not only honouring those who gave their lives but supporting those who still live with its consequences.”