Prince Philip: A pint and a poem as nursing home residents prepare to remember the ‘gentleman’ Duke | UK News

Raising a pint of beer, Cyril Rowell, 93, cries as he toasts the late Duke: “An officer and a gentleman!”

He is one of a dozen residents of Woodland Court Care Home in Torquay, who prepare to watch funerals Saturday, writing down their memories of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Across the room, Audrey Drake recites a poem she wrote, to the applause of the nursing staff: “Prince Philip – a man much admired, always upright and strong, immaculate, perfectly dressed, he did not seem to be. be mistaken.”

These residents are from the generation that grew up with the prince, remembering the first time he met a young queen a few miles away at Naval College in Dartmouth.

Mr Rowell said: “It’s just about finding out what he did. All the visits he made to different places and the things he did. He was always in the back- plan of the Queen – I’m sure she’ll miss him terribly.

“He was a gentleman. I knew him when he first met the Queen in Dartmouth when she came to visit him,” he added.

The Babbacombe Inn, located in the nearby bay, will cease serving Saturday at 3 p.m. to reach the nation in a minute of silence.

Manager Lee Pritchard said, “From 2:50 pm to 3:10 pm the music will be playing and the intention is that all of us, customers and staff, will have a minute of silence.

“It’s part of our history – and we should all be compelled to respect and pay for a minute’s silence.”

For those who are in the beer garden, it is important to take a break to remember the Duke.

Customer Ray Caslings said, “I’ll be home with a …