A REDDITCH lad who was so moved when he saw an RAF Benvolent Fund advert that he donated all his birthday money to it has met up with a Battle of Britain veteran.
Big hearted Henry Conway’s generosity featured in the Redditch Standard back in October and last Sunday he and his parents Leo and Elizabeth travelled to Bournemouth to meet old soldier Stan Hartill at his home.
Mr Hartill, who appears in the TV advert, entitled Show Your Pride, wanted to personally thank the six year-old for his donation.
As well as the 96-year-old, the advert also features double amputee Stuart Robinson and widow Jacqui Thompson, whose husband was killed on deployment in Afghanistan.
Henry had been instantly moved by the advert and had said: “Daddy I think we should give them some money.”
So dad Leo went online and made the generous donation on Henry’s behalf.
As a special thanks to Henry, Stan invited the family to his home where the pair shared stories about school and chatted about Stan’s wartime service.
“It was really fun to meet the man off the telly,” said Henry.
“He told me about the war and the Spitfires. I’d like to be a hero like Stan when I’m older.”
Stan said: “He’s a very intelligent little boy and it’s been quite a pleasure meeting him. I was deeply moved to hear about Henry’s donation after seeing me on the TV, so to be able to thank him personally is simply wonderful!”
Stan joined the Royal Air Force as an airframe fitter when he was just 19 years old and was supported by the charity when he was struggling to pay the maintenance charges on his flat.
The financial support meant Stan could continue to spend his retirement in his own home. Most recently, the Fund assisted Stan with accessing benefits through enabling him to obtain a £3,000 increase to his annual income, along with 94 weeks of backdated benefits, which resulted in a one off payment of more than £5,700.
The charity supports current and former members of the RAF, their partners and dependants providing financial, practical and emotional support. Last year, the Fund spent £17.6m supporting more than 65,000 members of the RAF Family.
