Handmade quilts honour local Kiwi veterans
Bert Frost and Doug Underhill were presented with handmade Anzac quilts recently, in recognition of their service in the armed forces.
The two men, who are residents of Bupa Cedar Manor Care Home, both served in World War Two and were given the quilts as a thank you from members of the Papamoa Patchers Club.
Each quilt has a value of around $300, are made from cotton, come in king single size, and always feature something uniquely New Zealand in their individual design.
Bert Frost, who only moved into the Tauranga care home in July this year, says he was very pleased with his new Anzac quilt made just for him.
“The blanket was absolutely beautiful, I was very touched. The ladies are so clever and I never expected something like that,” the 97 year old says.
Papamoa Patchers Club member Sheryl Farrow says she got the idea for the quilts from overseas where the ‘Quilts of Valor’ initiative has distributed more than 250,000 quilts to service members across America, Canada and the United Kingdom.
“I don’t believe we thank our Kiwi veterans enough, so these quilts are a great way of honouring their service. The returned service personnel are so thankful when we present the quilts to them as they understand how much work we’ve put into them. They also like to see a little touch of New Zealand on them too, showing what they fought hard for.”
Sheryl made 12 quilts herself during her lockdown downtime and says the club has presented 42 handmade quilts to veterans in the Bay of Plenty this year so far.
