North Berwick: Veterans campaign to revamp neglected shelter

The small building, close to Glasclune Gardens above the town’s East Links Putting Green, offers magnificent views of the Firth of Forth.

In recent years, it has been the target of litter and graffiti, and was described by one passer-by as “awful”.

Now, a group of former members of the Armed Forces have already earmarked the point as ‘Veterans View’ and are encouraging anyone, ex-military or not, to get involved.

The shelter has been left abandoned for some time

Martin Reimann, who served in the Royal Marines and is leader of the newly established group, called the views from the shelter “fabulous”.

He said: “We have an amazing viewpoint and we are going to champion this shelter and it would be amazing to refurbish the hut and make it something to be proud of.

“I do not believe we have anything in North Berwick recognising servicepeople after the Second World War, so this is a fantastic opportunity to do just that.

“If we are successful, it is going to be a viewpoint for the community to rest and for people to admire; when you look out to sea, it is fabulous but presently something needs to be done and we just need to find out who owns it and how we can get started on it.

“At the moment, we are hoping that the council will give us their support because this would be great for the community.

“We are also hoping that this newly assorted group of veterans continues on to do different projects and put our free time to good use.”

So far, the group of veterans has amassed a team of 15 volunteers to work on their first project and regularly meet up to chat and enjoy an occasional game of pétanque.

Martin, who served in Northern Ireland and the Falklands for more than five years, said that the group wanted to be of “benefit” to the local community.

He added: “This group isn’t all about socialising and networking; we also want to be a benefit to the community and have a certain mission.

“This is just the start and we have lots of ideas and would love others to get involved to help North Berwick.”

Martin was accompanied by his pet dog, Tucker, and fellow former servicemen, Ross Richardson, 64, and Gerry Taggart, 82.

Ross, whose family have lived in North Berwick since 1889, served as an engineer on submarines.

Gerry, an Ulster-Scotsman, served as an officer for the regulars and reserves During his mammoth thirty three year stint, he travelled to Yemen, Aden and Northern Ireland.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the group’s interest in refurbishing the shelter and would be pleased to discuss this further.”