THE chairman of the local Royal British Legion branch says two Largs veterans who passed away during the pandemic will be given a 'proper memorial' when coronavirus restrictions allow.

John Hutchinson and George Gibb, who served in the army and air force respectively, were unable to have full services due to the limit on funeral numbers.

Largs RBL chairman Patrick Murphy says members are determined to give pair a proper 'veterans' send-off'.

He said: “Unfortunately we lost two of our older members, John and George, during the pandemic.

“They were both real heroes and were both very active in the Largs branch, taking part in collections and activities.

“At John’s funeral, all we could do was have two standard bearers at the gate to the church and the rest of us stood across the road.

“There were four or five of us who stood socially distanced and gave a salute as the coffin went by, but that is all we could do.”

Patrick says the veterans are determined to pay tribute to John and George’s service in the military, as well as their commitment to the town and their branch.

He said: “We have agreed that we want to have some kind of memorial service for both of these remarkable gentlemen because we never got a chance to properly pay our respects.

“It it is something we really want to do.”

In 2018, a massive fundraising drive by the legion, the News and the Largs public helped John see again. The veteran was able to obtain state of the art glasses that restored his vision for the first time in decades.

George was thought to be the last surviving WW2 swordfish pilot when he passed away earlier this year.