Lord Lieutenant Calling All Veterans

Mrs Janet Bowen, Lord Lieutenant of Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh is calling all those who have served Queen and Country to step forward and be presented with a Veteran’s Badge.

Mrs Bowen said: “We owe our Veterans a huge debt for the freedoms that we take for granted today, and we have a proud tradition in Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh of service, which it is right to honour and remark on. This applies to young Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to those whom we think of as Veterans: those who served in the Second World War and Korea, and those who did National Service. But it also applies to everyone who served anywhere at any time. You don’t have to have been on active service to receive a badge.  It is open to everyone who has served in the Armed Forces,”

Similar badges may also be worn by members of the Merchant Navy who have served in a military capacity, such as the Falklands, and by women who worked in the Land Army and the Timber Corps. Badges can, under certain circumstances, be awarded posthumously to War Widows and Widowers who are in receipt of a War Widows/Widowers pension.

For those living in Skye and Lochalsh, a ceremony will be held in Portree in association with the Remembrance Day service on Sunday 8th November at which the Lord Lieutenant will present the badges. Veterans who have already received their badges may also request to have them formally presented on that occasion.

For those who do not already hold badges and who would like them presented, the first step is to get an application form from June Forsyth at the Lord Lieutenant’s Office at Council Buildings, Dingwall (Tel 01349 868500). Those who do hold badges and who would like them formally presented should also inform the office so that their names can be added to the list.