THE chairman of Millport’s British Legion has reflected on the challenges of his first year in the post - including the work of the branch during the coronavirus pandemic.

Scott Watson, a well-known face on the island, took up the role in February 2019 after being a member of the Legion for the past six years.

The retained firefighter and musician joined the Royal Air Force when he was 18 years old, spending 10 years in the forces before returning to Cumbrae.

He said: “When I came back to the island it was natural to join the local British Legion as a way of support more than anything else.

“They used to do a jam session on a Tuesday night and that’s where I got to know a lot of the guys involved.

“At that stage I was just a member and not involved in the running of it.

“Last February the chair of the branch stepped down and they were looking for somebody to take on that role.”

Scott says he was keen to take up the reins, especially as a younger man supporting an increasingly elderly veteran community.

He said: “I’m always happy to get involved with things. I’m a firm believer that if you want to see something happen or help with something, then you need to roll your own sleeves up.

“Maybe going straight in at the chair was a bold move, but one of the most commented things was that it was nice to see a younger member involved.

“I’m 35 and when you compare that to a lot of the members across the country, I am still young.

“I like what the British Legion stands for, and in a small community like this, it nice to have an active role.”

The Legion’s Millport branch has around 300 members and associate members, however Scott says the island group is not immune to the problems that the whole organisation faces.

He added: “The British Legion as a whole is struggling right now because we don’t have as many people in active service. When you look at World War Two, everybody of a certain age was taking part.

“As a result, the legion started making more of an effort to invite emergency services and others into the organisations.

“That is something we are very keen to do here on Millport because we have a big emergency services community. We’re keen for them to be actively involved.”

The coronavirus lockdown has impacted regular Legion activities on the island, however Scott and the committee have been able to keep supporting veterans in partnership with other organisations.

He said: “We’ve been really lucky on the island as we’ve got several organisations that have taken an active role during the lockdown, led primarily by the Millport support group.

“The British legion have had some involvement in that, but we’ve focused more on the one-to-one interactions, checking in on our older members, the ones who are more vulnerable

“The Legion is fortunate because we have a good committee who want to get involved in things, such as Pamela Fleming who has coordinated a lot of our efforts.

“It’s really nice because it’s meant there is a nice community spirit going and the organisations themselves know their own members and what they might need.”

The chairman added: “We are keen to have our club open again soon as possible, but it won’t happen until we feel it is safe.

“We are continuing to put out newsletters locally, and the padre does a weekly email broadcast to all our members. I know a lot of them have found that quite comforting.

“Although they may not be religious, he doesn’t focus too heavily on that and manages to find comfort and words that help people.”

One of the Legion’s biggest events of the year is the VE Day celebrations, however due to lockdown a much smaller scale celebration took place this time, with islanders encouraged to join in from their homes.

Scott explained: “Prior to the pandemic we had big plans for VE day. We wanted to create a display within Garrison house to show the history of Millport during the war, but that had to be postponed.

“We decided we would have a very small service and actively discouraged people from coming to the cenotaph. Instead we asked them to take a moment to stand on their own doorstep and take a minute’s silence.

“It was beautiful because you could see people everywhere taking part. It was quite poignant, a very fitting moment.”

The chairman says he is proud of what he is doing as head of the Millport branch, but also praised his committee and other organisations on the island for their support.

Scott said: “I’m a proud individual when it comes to my service and being able to carry that on in some small way, I am proud of the things I am doing.

“I’m willing to be a figurehead to support what the legion does on the island, and I’m very fortunate that I’ve got the support of the committee and the local organisations and the community.

“They are the people that are doing the good work, and the people that take the time to got and speak or assist one of our older members.

“I’m prouder of the things we achieve in that sense rather than what I do myself.”

More information about the Millport branch and its activities and support can be found at www.facebook.com/RBLSMillportBranch/.