The Taxi Charity was thrilled to take two Royal Navy veterans to dinner on board HMS Victory on Saturday 9 October.
The Taxi Charity accompanied by WWII Royal Navy veterans, Ernie Davies, 96, and Harry Rice, 95, were delighted to be invited to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) Benevolent Fund Dinner on 9 October on board HMS Victory in Portsmouth.
The Taxi Charity picked up the two veterans from their homes in Hornchurch and Guildford and drove them to a Portsmouth hotel where they enjoyed a tot of rum before heading to the historic dockyard, where special security arrangements had been made for the London Black Cab to pull up alongside Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory.
Accompanying the veterans at the event hosted by the DMRC were Taxi Charity, Vice President Frances Wyhowska, and London Cabbie and volunteer Mickey Calvey.
Frances Wyhowska, Vice President, Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, said, “The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans is proud of its links with the DMRC (Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Stanford Hall) and was honoured to be included as guests at the Benevolent Fund Dinner on board Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory. It was an added bonus that we were able to take two WWII Royal Naval
veterans who enjoyed an outstanding evening.”
Ernie Davies, WWII Royal Navy Veteran and member of the Taxi Charity family, said, “Harry and I had such a fabulous weekend. The Taxi Charity picked us up from home, took us to the dinner, paid for our overnight stay in a hotel and then after a hearty breakfast took us home again. The DMRC dinner was a fantastic occasion and we felt very privileged to have been invited to attend this evening on the Royal Navy’s most famous warship.”
To find out more about the support the Taxi Charity offers veterans visit www.taxicharity.org
About HMS Victory
HMS Victory is the Royal Navy’s most famous warship. Best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar, the Victory currently has a dual role as the Flagship of the First Sea Lord and as a living museum to the Georgian Navy.
www.historicdockyard.co.uk/site-attractions/attractions/hms-victory
About the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre
The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Benevolent Fund is a volunteer-run charity that provides funding to support holistic, occupational, and social integration opportunities for serving military patients at DMRC Stanford Hall, that are not provided by public funding.
About the Taxi Charity
The Taxi Charity is run by volunteer London black taxi drivers and has been supporting thousands of veterans of all ages since 1948. The charity arranges free trips to the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, for acts of commemoration and days out to museums, concerts, or fundraising events in the UK, to catch up with friends and comrades.
The Charity worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure veterans received regular contact by sending out a greeting card each month, gifts to mark the 75th anniversaries of VE and VJ day, stockings at Christmas and arranging Guards of Honour at veterans’ funerals. Volunteers have also helped with regular phone calls, food shopping, transport to hospital appointments, and more recently taking veterans for their Coronavirus injections.
The charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in June 2021.
To fund and facilitate their work, the charity is reliant on generous donations from members of the public, businesses, and trusts.
