Harry Laxton, 92-years-old, is a World War Two Veteran who joined the Royal Hospital in November 2011. He tells us which five personal objects are his most treasured.
1. SCARLET COAT
“I am choosing the scarlet coat to represent the Royal Hospital Chelsea as a whole. It is very important to me for the simple reason (with my affliction of being partially sighted) is that I have got a home, a bed and I am fed. The most essential parts of anybody’s life. I am most grateful for their attention and helpfulness they give me. I can’t live with any of my relatives, the youngest is 72!”
2. LÉGION D’HONNEUR
“What the Légion d’honneur is to me is a representation of memories that take me back 71 years. I was a tank gunner and served with the 23rd Hussars. I was at several major battles and I had some sticky points throughout my army career. There were six of us who were pally together and only three of us came back. My regiment was always up at the sharp end. Most of the people in tanks got killed, not all, but most. We got in there with a sense of humour, which you have to have. It’s no good saying, ‘I am going to die.’ You can’t give that a thought. You just can’t.”
3. MY MAGNIFYING MACHINE (ENHANCED VISION MACHINE)
“I can’t see anything over seven feet away – it’s all silhouettes. The reason why this machine is so important to me is because it allows me to write letters and fill out forms. Captain of Invalids, Rupert Lucas, took me down to Blind Veterans UK and that is where I discovered this machine and he managed to get me one. I have found the only way to deal with the situation that I am in is to try and beat it, don’t let it beat you!”
4. PHOTO OF ME AND MY FRIENDS ON A BIKE
“They took me out of the tank crews, which is when this photo was taken. A tankie coming into transport was quite unusual. I was driving a three tonne truck and would go right back behind the lines to pick up the stores required: ammunition, mail, rations. We used to drive in the dark at a speed of 5-8mph, no faster. We went as near as we dare go to the front, unloaded the supplies and then went back.”
5. FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH
“My siblings are all still alive, I am the eldest. There are six of us in total and we grew up in Portsmouth. We all went to school there. I left school when I was 14 and I became an apprentice to the joinery trade. When I left school there was no work about at all. In 1937 it was the depression. They talk about being hard up today but people don’t know what hard up is. We had nothing.”
