Veterans back save Princess Marina House campaign

By James Butler
Published 29th Jul 2020, 10:10 BST
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Veterans have joined forces for a different kind of battle: the fight to save Princess Marina House.

Members of the Arun Veterans and Armed Forces Breakfast Club gathered outside the respite home for war veterans in Seafield Road, Rustington, which announced recently it would not be reopening as lockdown measures eased.

The message to the RAF Benevolent Fund, the charity which ran the home, was clear: please do not close it for good.

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Ian Buckland, who is vice-chairman of the breakfast club, said he was ‘astonished’ and ‘dismayed’ by the news of its closure.

Campaigners and veterans gathered outside Princess Marina House. Pic Steve RobardsCampaigners and veterans gathered outside Princess Marina House. Pic Steve Robards
Campaigners and veterans gathered outside Princess Marina House. Pic Steve Robards

He wrote to Boris Johnson, Nick Gibb, MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and Johnny Mercer – the minister responsible for veterans and the armed forces and a former Army officer himself – urging them to help keep the facility open, but said he got no response.