TWO Ayrshire volunteers honoured for their work with an armed services veterans’ charity have lifted the lid on their work.
Graham Piggott, Keith Tulloch and Bob Whiteford were all hailed at the recent Voluntary Action South Ayrshire (VASA) annual awards ceremony for their work with SSAFA.
Graham is a former chair of the charity’s Ayrshire branch, while Keith worked as its treasurer and Bob as a case worker.
Graham and Keith were given ‘lifetime achievement awards’ after each chalking up more than 15 years of volunteer service with the charity, while Bob was given a gold award in recognition of his 11 years as a case worker with the charity, formerly known as the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Families Association.
Graham Piggott joined the armed forces in 1961 and served for 40 years in the Royal Navy – and within six months of returning to ‘civvy street’, he’d joined up with SSAFA in the hope of being able to help others.
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Bob, by stark contrast, had no background with the forces at all: for 20 years he was a dairy farmer with the award-winning Wheatrigs Ayrshire herd, before he sold up in 1992 and moved into financial services.
He joined SSAFA in 2013 after one of his clients asked if he might like to use his business and financial acumen to help the charity.
That client was one Graham Piggott – and for the last 11 years the duo, and their colleague Keith, have been mainstays of SSAFA’s work in Ayrshire.
Graham, who stood down from his position earlier this year, said: “For the last 23 years I have been the chairman for SSAFA Ayrshire. I left just three months ago mainly because I am getting a bit old.
“I found I needed a rest. I don’t like doing things with half energy. I like to put all my energy in.
"However, SSAFA has given me a wonderful opportunity to meet people and hopefully help them along."
Bob, who’d never heard of SSAFA until he was introduced to them by Graham, described one of the biggest projects he’s been part of in his 11 years volunteering for the charity – providing an extension on the side of a home in Stevenston.
Bob explained that a client's wife had suffered a stroke which left her disabled and unable to make it up the stairs of the family home.
The family converted part of their living room for her, but with three teenage sons at home, their domestic situation put a huge amount of pressure on them all.
That, though, was where SSAFA stepped in.
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“We got the funding to build an extension at the back of the house, re-lay the garden and put a roadway in for the car,” he said, “so the wife could get out the back of the house rather than having to manoeuvre down steps.”
This huge renovation of the home has made an incredible difference to the family’s life. The wife was able to have her own space and have accessibility out of her home.
“That's one of the great things about being a caseworker, " said Graham.
SSAFA doesn’t come to projects with its own funding; instead, it acts as a bridge between armed forces personnel, and their families, who are in need, and the organisations who have funding that can help.
That makes their role sound rather straightforward. In reality it’s a little bit more complicated than that: the average SSAFA client is between 60 and 70 years old, and comes from a generation that, Graham says, is accustomed to the “stiff upper lip” approach, not complaining or asking for help even though they know something is wrong or there’s something they need.
“When I visit a home to evaluate a client’s situation,” Bob says, “a lot of the clients will need help with more than one thing.
“More than once I’ve gone to someone’s home, spoken to them and realised ‘you need a few things, let’s apply for help with it all’.
“Many will reply ‘no, it’s too much, you’re not spending that amount on me’.”
Graham continued: “The most difficult decision a serviceman has to make is ask for help. Their whole lives they have been told ‘get on with it’.
“So one of the most important things we have to do, when a client comes forward, is to respond quickly and promptly, because to make that request for help is, for a typical ex-serviceman, a really big decision.
And while both were delighted to be honoured at VASA’s 2024 awards ceremony, they say the biggest award they can receive is seeing a client who isn’t in a good state when they approach SSAFA work their way up to having a stable and successful life.
The SSAFA team came to the aid of over 59,000 people in 2022 which included veterans, serving personnel and their families.
The charity is always looking for new volunteers to join them and say: “Military service or close experience of armed forces life is not essential, but dogged determination, a non-judgemental attitude, a sense of humour, and resilience are.”
As the average age of SSAFA’s clientele gets increasingly younger, the charity is particularly keen to hear from younger volunteers who can come to the help of the next generation of armed forces personnel, veterans and their families.
To learn more about SSAFA and about how to get involved with the charity, visit ssafa.org.uk/volunteer-for-ssafa.
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