A PENSIONER who fought at Dunkirk and D-Day has called on the Government to stop taking money from older veterans’ war pensions to pay for their care.

Currently war veterans in Oxfordshire injured on or before April 5, 2005, have money for social care taken out of their military compensation, which makes up part of their pension.

Like many other councils, Oxfordshire County Council uses the money for social care but the Royal British Legion says the rules are unfair and is calling for the Government to set aside a ring-fenced fund in the health budget.

Bob Halliday, 94, from Didcot, was a sapper in the Royal Engineers and fought at Dunkirk in 1940, in the Middle East, and on Sword Beach in the D-Day landings in 1944.

He said: “At Dunkirk my mate and I were lining up for the boats and wandered off to find some food.

“Some German bombers came over and dropped bombs and we were blown across a road.

“I was lucky to be alive but my eardrums were blown out and about 35 years ago, I was given a war pension.

Our top stories

“I don’t have care needs myself but if I do ever need care my war pension would be taken into account and that’s unfair. This is something that has been discussed at our local British Legion.”

After the war, Mr Halliday became an engineer at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and at Oxford University’s Department of Engineering.

Father-of-three Brian Hathaway, 77, from Appleton, near Abingdon, was awarded a war pension after he fractured his left elbow while completing his national service in 1959.

He said: “I think it’s unfair that some veterans have to pay for their social care.”

Oxfordshire RBL chairman Jim Lewendon said: “This situation does need to be reviewed – some veterans are worse off than others.”

There are an estimated 4,000 injured servicemen and women in the UK who are being forced to give up compensation money under the social care guidelines.

County council spokesman Dominic LlewellynJones said: “Oxfordshire is required to financially assess social care service users no less generously than the charging guidance allows.

“Under that guidance we disregard only the first £10 of War Disablement Pensions but wholly disregard all payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.”

Department of Health spokesman Alison Langley said: “We have been working with the RBL to see how we can support all veterans.”

She added that the War Pensions Scheme provided allowances in addition to the war disablement pension.

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.