Remembrance Day Across Meallmore

In the heart of every one of our care homes in Scotland lies a deep commitment to community, respect and connection. As Remembrance Day and Armistice Day arrive each November, residents, colleagues, and local communities come together to mark the occasion in meaningful and visible ways. At Meallmore, our homes aren’t just places to live - they are hubs of shared history, memory, and gratitude.

Through poppy displays, guest visits from veterans, window decorations and inter-generational activities, our homes bring Remembrance to life - making moments that matter for residents, families and visitors. Here’s a regional look at how a number of our homes marked this year with dignity and purpose.

Antonine House Care Home in Bearsden: Windows of Reflection

At Antonine House Care Home in Bearsden, the team went all out with window decorations visible to every passerby. The front windows became a canvas of Remembrance - hand-crafted poppies, messages of thanks and reflections from residents on sacrifice and service.

Each window was decorated thoughtfully, creating an outdoor gallery of memories that connected the home with the wider Bearsden community. Walkers and neighbours paused to read the messages, interact and reflect - transforming the home façade into something inclusive and respectful of our shared history.

This display wasn’t just decorative; it was deliberately placed so that families, friends, and local residents could engage visually, even if they couldn’t come inside. As one colleague said: “When someone sees a poppy in our window and takes a moment - that pause is the connection we strive for.”

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Greenan Manor Care Home in Ayr: Poppy Wreaths & Wartime Stories

At Greenan Manor Care Home in Ayr, the focus turned to wreaths and resident-led wartime recollections. Residents helped create poppy wreaths that were placed in the home’s entrance and communal areas. More than that, they shared their stories - some of them taught by incredible lived experience.

One resident described what it was like during the Clydebank Blitz in March 1941 when she was nine years old. Her story and others brought alive the meaning behind the symbols of Remembrance.

By combining physical wreaths, stories and social display, Greenan Manor connected its residents with the broader community of Ayrshire - sharing not just symbols, but personal history. It stood as an example of how a care home can serve as a living memory space, not only a place of care.

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Auchtercrag House Care Home in Ellon: Honouring with Veterans & Local Partnerships

In Ellon, at Auchtercrag House Care Home, the home welcomed a special guest: Alexander Rennie of LBDR 105 Regiment RA 212 Battery, based in Arbroath. His presence alongside residents marked the importance of Remembrance Day with gravity and connection.

Residents and colleagues gathered to reflect together, share stories and commemorate in a meaningful way. This wasn’t just a moment for the home - it reached out into the wider Aberdeenshire community, forging links between residents, veterans, and local organisations.

Such invitations bring authenticity and respect - to have someone who served join in the commemoration elevates the experience from activity to ceremony. It also shows how care homes can be hubs for regional veteran engagement and community recognition.

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Parklands Care Home in Alloa: Poppy Artwork for Reflection

At Parklands Care Home in Alloa, the focus was art. Residents, colleagues and families collaborated to create intricate poppy artwork - each piece representing thanks, Remembrance and community spirit. The artwork was displayed in corridors and communal areas, offering visual impact, conversation starters and a warm sense of shared purpose.

Art has a powerful role in memory and community engagement - especially in a care home environment. Parklands’ emphasis on creative activity tied back to Meallmore’s approach of “meaningful daily living” and ensured that Remembrance wasn’t just an event, but an immersive experience.

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Culduthel Care Home in Inverness: Hand-crafted Poppies in the Highlands

At Culduthel Care Home in Inverness, residents and colleagues embraced hand-crafting poppies to adorn the home. With its Highland backdrop, the home created displays of poppies that brought light and solemnity into communal spaces, corridors and outdoor entrances alike.

The act of crafting and placing the poppies provided both a therapeutic activity and a physical marker of Remembrance. Culduthel’s approach shows how care homes in remote and rural areas can still deliver large-scale, community-oriented remembrance activities while engaging residents fully.

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Kynnaird House Care Home in Fraserburgh: Community Crafting & Display

At Kynnaird Care Home in Fraserburgh, the poppy crafting extended into the broader community. Residents, families and local volunteers worked together to create poppy displays that were visible inside and outside the home.

These shared activities brought generations together - volunteers, colleagues and residents collaborating to create a visual tribute that connected the home with Fraserburgh’s wider community. Kynnaird’s work shows the power of local involvement in care home remembrance - and the way that physical displays can bring neighbourhoods closer.

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Crimond House Care Home in Aberdeen: “Weeping” Cascade of 250+ Poppies

At Crimond House Care Home, a spectacular display awaited. A “weeping window cascade” of more than 250 poppies was installed outside the home - each poppy hand-made by residents and staff to mark Remembrance Day.

This striking visual was not just decoration - it became a landmark of respect in the local area. Importantly, it involved the residents in meaningful craft, provided something for local passersby to reflect on, and reinforced the home’s role as part of the wider community.

Displays like this emphasise how care homes can be visible fixtures of community remembrance, not just in words, but in public presence.

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St Olaf Care Home in Nairn: Plastic Bottles to Poppy Cascade

At St Olaf Care Home in Nairn, the story was creative, ambitious and deeply meaningful. Residents, supported by family and colleagues, collected plastic bottles over the summer and outdoors, painted them hand-crafted into poppies, and used them to build a cascade display at the entrance of the home.

The idea was inspired by the famous poppy installation at the Tower of London. Assisted by Brian from the Ross-shire branch of the Seaforth Highlanders Association, the display was assembled, wreaths laid and a reflection shared. For residents and visitors alike, it became a visual poem in plastic - poppies reborn, Remembrance re-imagined.

St Olaf shows how care homes in remote or regional areas can deliver high-impact, innovative remembrance experiences that engage residents, families and local associations alike - translating history into craft, memory into art.

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Redwoods Care Home in Alness: Intergenerational Visit and Reflection

At Redwoods Care Home in Alness, the home welcomed a family member of a resident, accompanied by an Army Cadet, for a very special Remembrance Day visit. The presence of the cadet and the guest added heartfelt meaning as the home paused to reflect on the bravery, service and sacrifice of so many.

Intergenerational moments, like those of young cadets and older veterans and residents together, speak directly to our community-oriented care model. They show how Remembrance is not just about looking back, but about building relationships across generations.

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Grove Care Home in Aberdeen: Adorning the Home for Community Reflection

At Grove Care Home, the team adorned the home with poppy displays, creative tributes, and special remembrance sessions. The collective act of decorating, reflecting and engaging with local history became a moment of shared pride - and a visible sign of the home’s role as a community anchor.

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Mearns House Care Home in Newton Mearns: Unity, Community and Remembrance

At Mearns House Care Home in Newton Mearns, care, community and Remembrance came together with warmth. The home celebrated Remembrance Day with activities, shared reflection and community support - bringing residents, families and local partners into the heart of the moment.

Located close to local amenities and well-integrated with the town’s community, Mearns House again demonstrates how a care home can lead local remembrance efforts - creating a space where residents connect with memory, families feel included and local passersby recognise the home as a centre of community.

Why Remembrance Matters in Care Homes

Care homes play a unique role in the fabric of our communities. They are not just living spaces - they are places of memory, connection and inter-generational relationships. Remembrance Day activities extend care beyond the individual to the collective: residents, families, staff and neighbours.

By creating visible poppy displays, inviting veterans, collaborating with local groups and crafting together, our homes tap into:

• Memory and meaning – Many residents lived through conflict, rationing or wartime Britain. These events become personal stories.
• Community connection – Local schools, cadets, churches and volunteers all join in, making the care home a community hub.
• Visibility and respect – Displays in windows, outside entrances or gardens make Remembrance public and inclusive.
• Engagement and purpose – Crafting poppies, preparing displays, inviting guests—these activities provide structure, social connection and purpose for residents.
• Inter-generational bonds – Young volunteers, cadets or school groups visiting care homes help stitch together local history with now.

In the context of care homes in Scotland, these efforts underscore the breadth of our approach: high-quality care, community inclusion, visibility and meaningful experience for residents and their families.

At Meallmore, our approach to Remembrance Day is rooted in our values - Create, Act, Recognise, Engage. Each home is encouraged to tailor its activities to local community and resident needs - whether that means poppy crafts, veteran visits, window displays or community events.

Create

Homes design poppy displays, installations, window art and events that bring Remembrance alive. These aren’t generic - they reflect each home’s identity, the local community and resident stories.

Act

We engage with local community partners: veteran associations, cadet groups, schools and families. Homes act with intention—ensuring residents are involved, families invited, and the local community is publicly included.

Recognise

We ensure residents’ pasts, stories and contributions are honoured. Their lived experience is recognised through craft, sharing sessions, guest visits and display. Care homes recognise the collective memory of service and sacrifice.

Engage

We merge resident involvement, family presence and community visibility. Engagement means residents aren’t spectators—they are creators. Families, neighbours and local groups are part of the interaction.

Why This Matters for Families Choosing a Care Home

For families evaluating care homes in Scotland, these Remembrance activities are more than pageantry - they signal culture, community and quality. A home that pauses to remember shows:

• The team values history and community.
• Residents are engaged in meaningful, purposeful activity.
• The home reaches beyond its walls to local neighbourhoods.
• The environment is one where dignity, memory and connection matter.

That kind of culture speaks volumes when comparing care homes. In our network of 27 homes across Scotland, each home’s remembrance activity reaffirms our commitment to being a place where life continues, stories are told and community thrives.

From Bearsden to Ayr, Inverness to Alloa, our Meallmore homes showed how Remembrance Day can become more than a date on the calendar - it can become a moment of community, reflection and connection.

Through windows decorated for passersby, poppy wreaths made by residents, veteran visits that brought service and sacrifice face to face, hand-crafted artwork and intergenerational engagement, we’re proud to show care homes in Scotland are part of our shared history and future.

When families search for care homes in Scotland that go beyond care, choosing a home where community, memory, and shared purpose sit alongside quality services - well, that’s what makes the difference.

Here’s to our residents, our colleagues, our local partners - and to the future of living well together.