98-year-old war veteran walks to save Talbot House on VE Day
Surrounded by press, residents of Poperinge and Talbot House staff, George Sutherland has brought much attention to the plight of the ‘everyman’s club’ in the Westhoek
Crisis victim
At least he was meant to walk it; according to the Talbot House manager, George Sutherland (pictured) was “more worn out by the press than by the walk” and so had to be driven part of the way. While the press kept their distance, of course, they were charmed by Sutherland's commitment and stories.
He didn’t mind. The attention was in fact appreciated, as are the donations that have made their way to Talbot House, which is struggling to make ends meet during the corona crisis.
Sutherland was born in 1921 in a pub across the road from the Lijssenthoek graveyard, the final resting place of more than 10,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the First World War. His mother was Belgian, his father Scottish.
A lifetime in Poperinge
He joined the British Royal Air Force in 1939 as the Germans invaded Belgium, training as an aircraft mechanic in Edinburgh. Yesterday, on the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, he had planned to walk from the cemetery, where he has tended the graves since he was a boy, to Talbot House, a club established in 1915 as a “home from home” for British soldiers, where they could relax in the gardens, write a letter home, drink tea and play music, regardless of rank.
With his sponsored walk, which turned from four kilometres to one because of the crowds, Sutherland aims to raise money to support the club. Talbot House is run by volunteers and open to the public as a living museum and guesthouse. It now has no income because of the coronavirus outbreak. A fundraising appeal has so far collected more than €80,000.
“Now and again I visit Talbot House, and I hear there may be a closure. I hope that doesn’t happen,” said Sutherland, who lives just outside Poperinge. “Old and young soldiers, they all know Talbot House. They come and visit the place, and it’s like a home.”
Every little helps
Sutherland was inspired to carry out his walk by Captain Tom Moore, a fellow British veteran who raised almost £33 million (€37.4 million) for the UK’s National Health Service by walking 100 laps around his garden last month, shortly before his 100th birthday in April.
“He did it for a good cause,” Sutherland told Het Laatste Nieuws. “I hope to do the same myself, on a smaller scale. Every little helps.”
Sutherland was accompanied by a piper for the final 500 metres, and cheered on by residents of Poperinge. “There were a thousand people out on the streets, out on their doorsteps, waving their Scottish flags,” Talbot House manager Simon Louagie said.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims and tourists visit Talbot House, and work on a new permanent exhibition was under way when the virus outbreak forced it to close. The creation of the exhibition represents a significant cost at a time when the club is unable to make money from entry fees.
“With cancellations till the autumn, we are seeing our income fade away,” said Louagie. “A historic house requires almost constant maintenance and renovation. As things stand at the moment, it is going to be a struggle to make it till the end of the year.”
Photo: George Sutherland just before setting out on his walk yesterday morning
©Courtesy Talbot House
