Good Samaritan’s holiday home is a help for heroes
A VETERAN guardsman has played Santa all year by offering his Glenbarr holiday cottage to war heroes.
Philip Heard, 84, built a holiday house next to his own home, and – by working with military charities, including Help for Heroes – rents the property for free to service personnel and their families. Speaking to the Courier last Thursday, Mr Heard said that Help for Heroes was an organisation that is ‘very close to my heart’.
His own father served in France in the First World War in the Light Infantry, was mentioned in the dispatches and awarded a military medal.
‘My father suffered from frostbite and lost all of his toes, which meant he couldn’t bal- ance. His left lung was seriously damaged, along with his left arm.’
Following his father’s path, Mr Heard was a sergeant in the Grenadier Guards.
‘I joined in 1950 and stayed for nine years,’ said Mr Heard. ‘I served in Egypt on the banks of the Suez Canal. I earned my three stripes within two and a half years.’
Army life
He left the army in 1959 because, as he said: ‘The woman I was going to marry didn’t want the army life so I went back to Exmoor farming.’
Following the death of his wife, he moved to Scotland. Mr Heard said: ‘I’d been up to Scotland to show Highland cattle and met a lot of friends there and moved to Kintyre about 26 years ago.’ His lucrative farming career allowed him to build from scratch two years ago. In total, the project has cost Mr Heard more than £375,000. He estimates 80 veterans have taken a ‘much-needed break’ in Glenbarr.
But the coastal location isn’t the only thing which makes the Kintyre retreat special.
There is a unique camaraderie between Mr Heard, himself an ex-soldier, and the veterans who visit.
Though weaponry and technology may have changed since Mr Heard’s time, he believes the military experience is similar.
‘I don’t think there’s much difference in it to be honest,’ explained Mr Heard, ‘but I do think it affects them nervously more than it used to; it’s amazing how many of their nerves are affected.
‘One man who had his leg blown off would come and start talking to you and then he’d freeze.’
For booking information, contact Band of Brothers at Help for Heroes on 01980 844280.
See page four for more on this story.