For over 100 years, our supporters’ generous gifts have helped us adapt to meet the changing needs of veterans. Arthur Ogden was a long-time supporter of Royal Star & Garter and legacy pledger who was also a resident at our Solihull Home.

Arthur came to live with us in 2015 after the death of his beloved wife, Irene.  He was a popular resident who lived a full and independent life with us. He enjoyed taking part in activities and group outings and benefitted from regular physiotherapy sessions which enabled him to maintain his mobility.  Arthur died in 2020 at the grand age of 98.

Born in 1921, he enlisted in the Middlesex Yeomanry aged 17 as ‘a boy soldier’ with his father’s permission and served for seven years until 1946. During the Second World War he was a driver and saw active service in Europe and North Africa, where he fought at the Battle of El Alamein.

Arthur had a distinguished Army career and received several awards including the 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star 8th Army Bar and the prestigious Legion d’honneur medal (France’s highest military honour) for his contribution to the liberation of France during the Second World War.

He said “It is now history and the Army has changed over the last 70 years and will continue to do so. This might be of interest in the future, but what happened to me happened to hundreds of others and there is nothing special about my life in the Army – I was just a very ordinary soldier who was very lucky!”

In the years that followed, Arthur married Irene and together they raised their family in the West Midlands. He went on to write, and have published, his memoirs Arthur Ogden: Memoirs of a Very Ordinary Soldier 1939-46 which can be found at the Imperial War Museum archive.

After ensuring that his family and friends were taken care of, Arthur pledged us a gift in his Will. Gifts in Wills are an important and valued part of our income, and it takes exceptional people to touch the lives of others when they are no longer here.

Legacies like Arthur’s enable us to continue to provide exceptional tailored care to veterans and their partners so that they can lead happy, fulfilled lives.  They allow us to develop our plans for the future so we can help even more veterans. All bequests, large or small, really do make a difference.  Arthur’s memory lives on in the extraordinary gift he left to support our work.

For more information about Gifts in Wills and how they help, please click here.