Dedicated staff at The Royal Star & Garter Homes have been recognised at a Long Service Awards ceremony.

It was held at the Surbiton Home on Wednesday, 23 January, and acknowledged stalwarts who had notched up between 10 and 45 years of service for the Charity.

In total, 35 staff were commended for their work and commitment helping ex-Servicemen and women and their partners living with disability or dementia.

All recipients started work at the Charity’s historic Home in Richmond, before relocating to the award-winning Surbiton Home, where they are now based.

Among those honoured were members of the nursing, housekeeping and physio teams. They received a small gift for their dedicated service from the Charity’s Chief Executive Andy Cole.

Emrys Owen has been with the Charity for 36 years, joining when he was 23. The Lead Health Care Assistant (HCA) said: “It’s mostly the people I have looked after over the years, the stories I have heard and the characters that I have met that makes the job so worthwhile. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else, it’s an amazing organisation to work for.”

HCA Roson Gonzaga, who has been with the Charity for 22 years, said after receiving his award: “It’s a nice feeling, it’s a privilege to be recognised. I love looking after the residents, and this is a special place to work.”

Andy Cole thanked staff for their many years of dedication. He said: “The Charity feels like a family, and staff staying with us for a long time helps so much to support this. It was an honour to personally thank everyone for their dedicated service. That so many people have spent such a significant part of their working lives with The Royal Star & Garter Homes is something that we are enormously proud of, and hopefully reflects well on the way that we value our staff.”