Director, Chris Kane, had the pleasure of showing work experience student, Jack Bristow, a sixth former from Corfe Hills School, Poole, around some of the Greendale Construction sites last week.
Chris took Jack to Shore House in Swanage, Sandbanks Court, and Christchurch Harbour Hotel, where he met with Greendale site managers and had tours of the sites.
Jack’s Grandfather, George Walker, was a talented carpenter and site manager with Greendale for many years until he retired, and Jack is considering following in his grandfather’s footsteps.
Bournemouth War Memorial Homes
Chris also took Jack to Poppy Lane, Bournemouth War memorial Homes, where Greendale is putting the finishing touches to four new properties for war veterans in need of homes with discounted rent. This work has been made possible due the £500,000 grant from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
The Bournemouth War Memorial Homes (BWMH) is a charity founded in 1948, overseen by a Board of Trustees, providing a variety of high quality one, two and three bedroom homes to Veterans in need at a discounted rent.
On a case-by-case basis, the Trustees have the flexibility to provide other help to tenants beyond the provision of accommodation.
The homes are funded entirely by donations and the rental income from the properties. As the rent is discounted, BWMH are reliant upon donations from outside organisations and in recent times have received grants from ABF The Soldiers Charity, RAF Benevolent Fund, Queen Mary Roehamptons Trust, Royal Fusiliers, The Joseph & Lena Randall Charitable Trust, and The Talbot Village Trust. Without these donations the charity would not be able to maintain the properties and communal areas to the standard they take pride in. All the Trustees carry out this work entirely voluntarily to ensure that the Homes are run and maintained to a very high standard.
Jack, who is studying triple sport and business at Corfe Hills School, enjoyed learning about site security and safety, and going around and seeing how important checking the properties for final touches is before the properties are locked up ready for handover to the client this week. If he decides to pursue a career in line with his Grandad, Jack would be looking at starting an apprenticeship in carpentry where he would learn on the job as well as attend college.
Tom Hayes, MP, visits Poppy Lane
Tom Hayes, MP for Bournemouth East, who complimented the Bournemouth War Memorial Homes in Parliament in January 2025, also visited Poppy Lane on Friday 5th June. During his visit, Tom met some of the Trustees, the Estate Manager and our own Greendale Site Manager, Adam Logan.
From L-R: Peter Matthews (BWMH Trustee), Natalie Burman (BWMH Trustee), Tracey Poole (BWMH Estate Manager), Tom Hayes (MP), Ricci Cobelli (BWMH Trustee) & Adam Logan (Greendale Construction)