A World War Two veteran who has slept in his living room for the last four years says a new stairlift from the Royal British Legion is “the best Christmas present ever”.
Harry Birdsall, 97, from Wakefield could not walk up his stairs due to mobility problems and received the new stairlift after approaching the charity and can now wake up in his own bed on Christmas morning.
The veteran was called up as a driver in the Service Core in 1944 at the age of 18, just three months before D-Day.
Only a teenager, Harry saw the horrors of war first hand whilst evacuating prisoners from the Belsen concentration camp as part of Operation Barleycorn.
“Belsen concentration camp was terrible,” Harry told GB News.
“All the inmates were there and I should say if anyone weighed over six stone, they were big. They were all skeletons and they’d all been checked out by the medical and it was our job to take them back to Poland.
“What upset me mainly, they were dying in the back of my vehicle. You know, pulling dead bodies out and that. I was only 19 and I thought ‘it’s terrible is this’, I was the youngest in my platoon.
“It really affected me, and still does today. I was having nightmares. After I got back from Poland, I went to the Medical Officer, because I knew I wasn’t right, I just couldn’t get the horror of it all out of my mind.
“They sent me to Hanover for rehab and they simply told me to forget about Belsen and think about something else.
“But I gradually got over that and I’m one of the few remaining reminders of it all.”
Whilst in Germany, Harry then worked as a coach trimmer, and stayed there until he was demobbed in 1947. He returned to Wakefield and worked as a driver and an air pressure welder, before starting a family business, ‘Birdsall Brothers Coaches & Taxis’ alongside his four brothers. He then set up his own firm, Cross Lane Garage, until his retirement in 1989.
To honour his service and support his mobility, the Royal British Legion funded a stairlift for 97-year-old Harry who struggled to walk upstairs.
The veteran was called up as a driver in the Service Core in 1944 at the age of 18, just three months before D-Day
Now, he’ll be able to spend the first Christmas in four years sleeping in his own bed instead of his chair downstairs.
Charlotte Lawson, Independent Living Advisor for the RBL, said: “It’s kept him independent; he’s been in this house for 60 odd years and that was our aim to keep him in this house and to keep his independence.
“It’s massive that he’s able to get up the stairs and get in his own bed.
“My dad’s a veteran too, he’s served 22 years in the Parachute Regiment, so it’s very close to my heart that we help veterans, especially veterans like Harry.”
The RBL has also provided Harry with a state-of-the-art adjustable orthopaedic bed to make him more comfortable at night, as well as a new reclining chair for his lounge.
Harry was married to his late wife Margaret and had three children. For his son Nigel, getting his dad’s independence back is the best Christmas gift he could wish for.
“He hasn’t just got his life back, he’s got his house as well. It’s one of the best Christmas presents he’s had really,” Nigel Birdsall told GB News.
“D-Day and VE Day doesn’t mean a thing to my dad because he was in Germany. When everybody was going home, he had to be there and came back in the middle of 1947.
“I’m very proud to be his son.”
Now entering its fifth year, The Royal British Legion’s Together at Christmas campaign raises awareness of the support available for the Armed Forces community during the Festive period and the charity is reminding its community to reach out if they are struggling.
The RBL’s Interim Director of Services, Nina Villa, said: “Christmas can be a time when people’s troubles and worries are exacerbated by the financial pressures of the season or feelings of loneliness and isolation.
“We want the Armed Forces community to know that we are here for them, whether that’s to offer financial support, companionship, or a friendly ear.”
Support is available over the Festive period through the Royal British Legion’s helpline, open 8am-8pm, 7 days a week – 0808 802 8080.
