Bournemouth War Memorial Homes receives £500,000 grant

Bournemouth War Memorial Homes, which was founded in 1946, are delighted to have been granted £500,000 by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund on behalf of the Office for Veteran’s Affairs.

Housing homeless veterans and veterans in need has been a priority for BWMH, but we just have not enough homes; demand outstrips our supply. This grant will enable us to build 4 eco-friendly, energy efficient, affordable homes, which will be adapted to suit the needs of the veteran on our existing site just off Castle Lane West, Bournemouth. The 2 one bed and 2 two bed homes will provide additional accommodation for veterans in need at a discounted rent, giving individuals a real chance to get back on their feet.

We already have 59 homes providing accommodation for veterans and their families. In total, we have 101 people on our Castle Lane West site. The proposed development “Poppy Lane 2”, will commence in January 2025 and complete in December of that year.

We are extremely grateful to The Armed Forces Covenant Fund for making our plans a reality. As we are to our Architects, Footprint and our Quantity Surveyors, KSP, who have been by our sides throughout the planning and development phases.

We still seek additional funding to complete this £1.2m project. If interested in helping us help veterans in need, please contact our Estate Manager, Tracy Poole at the Homes.

Armistice Day – 11th November 2024

The tenants and guests of BWMH gathered outside in our Remembrance Garden to remember the fallen. A lovely service conducted by our Chairman of the Trustees, Ricardo Cobelli, followed by tea & cake in our communal lounge.

We were honoured to be joined by your local MP, Tom Hayes.

Donation from Queen Mary’s Roehampton Trust

Queen Mary’s Roehampton Trust makes grants to organisations which provide services for war disabled ex-Service personnel (and former members of the mercantile marine disabled in war) and their dependants.

Bournemouth War Memorial Homes are delighted to have received a generous donation of £35,000 from the Trust which will be used toward the construction of 4 new properties for veterans.

Without the donations from charities like Queen Mary’s Roehampton Trust, Bournemouth War Memorial Homes would not be able to continue to support our veterans. We are very grateful for their continued support.

The Great Tommy Sleep Out for RBLI

Our resident, Freddie, took part in the RBLI Great Tommy Sleep Out in March and raised the fantastic total of £520. Freddie spent a night under canvas in our allotment area to help raise the money. Well done Freddie!

75th Anniversary

This August, Bournemouth War Memorial Homes will be celebrated its 75th Anniversary.

We held a special party on the Green to celebrate to which all tenants, The Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, The Deputy Mayor of Bournemouth, and representatives of the armed forces associations have been invited.

Mike Vincent – Patron

It is with sadness that we have to announce the passing of our dear Patron, Mr Mike Vincent, who passed away on 28th February 2023.

Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

11 DEC REMEMBRANCE DAY 2020

This year has been a little different down at the Homes. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic and to make sure we adhere to the government guidelines, our Remembrance Day was commemorated by some of our residents in a socially distanced manner.

22 MAY VE DAY – 8TH MAY 2020

Despite the current situation with the pandemic, BWMH still managed to celebrate this special VE Day, albeit with social distancing measures in place.

At 11am residents gathered by the memorial garden to lower the flag in memory of this special day, 75 years ago. The day was also toasted by residents at 3pm whilst listening to Churchill’s historical speech on the radio!

22 MAY BWMH IN BLOOM

Spring/Summer has arrived at Bournemouth War Memorial Homes. Many thanks Caz for the wonderful pictures of our Memorial Garden flowers and a special visitor ‘George’ the fox!

06 FEB THE LANDMARK TRUST – 50 FOR FREE SCHEME

50 for Free offers 50 self-catering breaks in their amazing historic buildings to the nominees of charities and non-profit organisations.

That’s 50 short breaks in some of their most treasured Landmarks across England, Scotland and Wales going directly to those who most need a break.

We are delighted to announce that BWMH has been selected to receive one of these free weekend stays. Therefore, one lucky family has already been selected to go the the Trust’s Devon property in March.

A big thank you to the Landmark Trust for making this possible.

The Landmark Trust website can be viewed at www.landmarktrust.org.uk.

27 NOV REFURBISHMENT OF THE GARDENS

The refurbishment of the gardens is well underway. Around the seated area in the middle there will be 6 trees, some have already been sponsored by residents.

14 NOV REMEMBRANCE DAY – 11TH NOVEMBER 2019

This year for our Remembrance Day Service, CSE Events kindly supplied a marquee for Sunday 10th & Monday 11th November. Not only did they supply the marquee, they organised an afternoon of entertainment on the Sunday for our residents. Thank you CSE Events for your help again this year. Everyone had a great time.

Everyone taking their seats

BLESMA laying their wreath

09 JUL NEW GATES FOR THE MEMORIAL GARDEN AT WOODSFORD GREEN

Wow, look at our lovely new gates which have been installed this weekend!

07 AUG NEW PATHWAYS AND COMMUNAL GARDEN AT THE HOMES

Things are shaping up nicely at the Homes.

Currently, we are having the pathways replaced at the front of the Homes and also behind the Jewell Road Flats. Photo below taken mid-process – more to follow!

Also, The National Citizenship Scheme has sent us a team of helpers to transform the Jewell Road flats gardens into communal gardens for everyone to enjoy. The photo below has been taken mid-process and we are just waiting for the lawn to be laid.

03 OCT NEW BUNGALOWS OPENED

We recently opened five new bungalows in Poppy Lane. …

16 JUN BWMH BUILDING PROJECT

Our new build is underway. Here are a few progress pictures….