Caring Nuthall resident hand-stitches dozens of blankets for local war heroes

Margaret Brown, 80, has spent hours in her retirement stitching the patchwork lap quilts with the idea of presenting them to “those who have served our country”.

She said: “It was always the intention to donate them specifically to veterans.

“Because to me, there’s nowhere near enough done for veterans. I think it’s a shame they serve their lives and their country and then a lot of the time they are just ignored.

“Many are in wheelchairs, and some are not, but even still when it gets chilly at night-time it’s always the legs that get cold first.”

Margaret, who ran her own sewing shop in Eastwood for 25 years, used leftover materials from her old store to create the 24 beautiful patchwork blankets.

Along with this latest charitable gesture, Margaret also spent years collecting hundreds of pounds for the annual Poppy Appeal in her shop.

The cause is close to Margaret’s heart as her relatives, including her son and son-in-law, have both served in the army and the RAF respectively.

She has now teamed up with Eastwood and District branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) to help ensure the blankets are received by veterans in the local area.

RBL branch chairman Jon Cooper said: “We have started to hand them out to the veterans we know about but there are also many out there we don’t yet know – and would love them to get in touch.

“Finding the veterans who need them is hard, because a lot of them are not members of the branch for various reasons.

“There must be so many people out there who could make use of them, especially if they are struggling to get out of the house.

“Anybody who is less able to get around, maybe uses or a wheelchair or mobility scooter and spends a lot of time static, will feel the cold a lot more so will benefit from a nice warm blanket.

“Hopefully word will get round and veterans or their family members will come forward. As long as they all go to veterans, that’s the ultimate aim.

“If anyone knows a veteran in our community that could make use of a lap quilt, please get in touch.”

RBL Eastwood committee member Jez Warren passed on one of the handmade blankets to his dad, a former member of the RAF.

Jez said: “My dad is so grateful for this fantastic gift. He really loves it. So nice to see him smile.”

Margaret is also working on a special extra-large poppy blanket, which will be raffled off to raise money for the RBL later this year.

If you know a local veteran who would benefit from a lap quilt, contact the Advertiser on [email protected] or Jon Cooper via the ‘Eastwood & District Royal British Legion - Nottinghamshire’ page on Facebook.

The Eastwood and District RBL meets at 7pm every fourth Monday each month at the Sun Inn, on Derby Road, Eastwood, and always welcomes new members.