{"id":341117,"date":"2025-08-13T12:20:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341117\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T12:20:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:20:11","slug":"veterans-return-to-scotland-for-magical-visit-to-edinburgh-tattoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341117\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans return to Scotland for \u2018magical\u2019 visit to Edinburgh Tattoo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 cKWiEj\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 cKWiEj\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 cKWiEj\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"sc-1uza6dc-1 huxBsk\">Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong>Read more<\/p>\n<p>Three veterans who served in the Second World War have attended the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo during a trip to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/scotland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scotland<\/a> for a \u201creturn to places of deep personal meaning\u201d organised by a charity.<\/p>\n<p>Eugeniusz Niedzielski, 101, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/don\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Don<\/a> Turrell, 100, and Dorothea Barron, 100, attend the pageantry event at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/edinburgh-castle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Edinburgh Castle<\/a> during their trip to Scotland, organised by the Taxi Charity for Military <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/veterans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Veterans<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>They described the Tattoo as \u201cthe icing on the cake\u201d after seeing the show on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p>The visit was organised after Mr Turrell, who lives in Frinton-on-Sea in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/essex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Essex<\/a>, disclosed it was his \u201cfinal wish\u201d to return to Scotland, where he had served in the Cameronians, and he vowed to come back next year.<\/p>\n<p>Polish veteran Mr Niedzielski was \u201cdelighted\u201d to watch the Band of the Polish Border Guard, according to organisers.<\/p>\n<p>He served with the 1st Armoured Polish Division, and during the visit spent time with the Polish Community in Edinburgh, and also attended a Catholic Mass and a memorial service to his fallen comrades.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Barron, who served in the Women\u2019s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), returned to the site of her former barracks at Port Edgar, now a housing development and had a tour of Campbeltown, while Mr Turrell visited the Cameronians Museum and the Ben Nevis Distillery.<\/p>\n<p>He said the visit was \u201cunforgettable\u201d, and also described the Tattoo as \u201cmagical\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Turrell said: \u201cIt was breathtaking \u2013 from the stirring opening to the grand finale. When the pipers emerged through the smoke, I thought the procession would never end \u2013 it was magical.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been absolutely wonderful \u2013 and I\u2019m coming back next year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Colin Mills, chairman of the Taxi Charity, said: \u201cSince 1948, the Taxi Charity has supported thousands of veterans, arranging free trips to the Netherlands and France for acts of commemoration, as well as days out to museums, concerts, and social events across the UK.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis trip to Scotland was inspired when Don quietly shared with me that his last wish was to return there. We were determined to make it happen \u2013 and in doing so, we\u2019ve not only fulfilled Don\u2019s dream, but also the heartfelt wishes of Dorothea and Eugeniusz.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dick Goodwin, vice president of the Taxi Charity, said \u201cThis trip has given the veterans the chance to return to places of deep personal meaning from their wartime service \u2013 and they\u2019ve enjoyed every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said the Tattoo was \u201ca celebration of skill, pageantry, and shared history\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Goodwin said: \u201cIt was a fantastic performance, from the hundreds of pipers, The Band of the Polish Border Guard, that delighted World War Two veteran Eugeniusz Niedzielski, to the precision and daring of the USAF Honor Guard Drill Team, spinning and throwing rifles with bayonets attached.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole evening was a celebration of skill, pageantry, and shared history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis trip has given the veterans the chance to return to places of deep personal meaning from their wartime service \u2013 and they\u2019ve enjoyed every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-341117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}