Orkney Veterans’ Breakfast Club — 24th February 2024
By Adrian Hughes
If you’ve ever read anything about the Orkney Armed Forces’ and Veterans’ Breakfast Club, you’ll know they welcome anyone who has served any other country. This point was underlined when three new members joined their ranks on Saturday; all from Ukraine. The significance of the date wasn’t lost on the veterans; the date marked the 2nd anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Serhii, [Sergey] his wife, Svitlana and their friend, Ksusha, have all been living here since 2022 and appear to have settled quite well; the couple now have their own small business whilst Ksusha works part-time in a cafe, when she’s not looking after her 11-year-old daughter, who goes to school in Kirkwall. They all say they have been made to feel very welcome by the people of Orkney.
Serhii has served in Ukraine’s army, twice; the first time as an 18-year-old, when he worked as a border guard. There was conflict between the Moldovans and an internal breakaway region, Transnistria, so in 1991 it was his job to help monitor and control who was entering and leaving Ukraine, from Moldova. He volunteered again, in 2015, this time as a machine gunner in Avdiivka, fighting Moscow-backed separatist.
Photo: Serhii, serving as a machine gunner in Avdiivka, near Bakhmut.(2015)
It is easy to understand why Serhii would want to be fighting now, if he could. However, health issues have meant he has not been allowed to rejoin the Ukrainian forces, for a third time.
Serhii and Svitlana came from Nikolaev, near the Black Sea, in Southern Ukraine. In February 2022, when Russia invaded their homeland, the couple were on holiday in Egypt, where they found themselves stranded for a month. Eventually they managed to get to the Czech Republic, where Svitlana’s daughter lived, and stayed for about six months until her son-in-law, a farm worker, got a UK visa for himself and his wife. Shortly afterwards, Serhii and Svitlana found a sponsor and were invited to come to Orkney. They arrived here in September 2022.
At home in Ukraine, Svitlana ran her own business, supplying windows and doors; Serhii did the measuring-up and was in charge of the installation. Today, trading as, “Ukraine Assistant”, their business offers a range of domestic services, including home and garden maintenance. They are currently living in temporary accommodation in Finstown.
Ksusha lived in Kharkiv, around 20 miles from the Russian border:
“I left Ukraine because my husband told me we had to go to Poland for safety; my oldest daughter lives there. We had the opportunity to leave Kharkiv together, but he said no, he must stay in Ukraine. It was his decision”.
The journey took more than 24 hours. Train after bus, after train after bus; all in darkness, not leaving their seats, not sleeping:
“It was terrible. When we were travelling, we could always hear the sounds of bombs. All the time, I didn’t know if we were safe or not. It was a long journey. We didn’t feel safe until we got to Poland.
Eventually, under the “Homes for Ukraine” scheme, Ksusha found her way here.
“I spoke to one lady who lives in Orkney; it was just a conversation at first, but I knew I wanted to leave Poland. Later, she said maybe you would like to live in Orkney because it is a safe place and I could feel better”.
Coming here was a real culture shock for Ksusha. She’d known about Scotland, but had no idea about Orkney; she’d never heard of it before. She said:
“I thought it was horrible, at first, I didn’t know where this place was. I’d been having very bad headaches, but when I arrived here, that quickly changed, and I thought, maybe everything’s good.
“I lived with my first host for about a month; she lives in Stromness, but not in the centre. I have a daughter, who is 11, so I realised it was not a good location for me; I don’t drive and I needed to be able to get her to school and to the shops and places. I was able to find a new host, living in central Stromness”.
Ksusha and her daughter now live in Kirkwall.
“After I left Stromness, I got the news that my husband was dead. I went back to Ukraine the next day. Kharkiv had been badly bombed, for a long time. I had to look for him and take his body to be buried.
Ksusha’s husband, Alexandr, was 49 years old, and a carpenter. He was also a former professional soldier with combat experience. He’d previously served when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and made the decision to fight, instantly, although Ksusha didn’t find out until much later.
In 2023, Alexandr was killed whilst serving in Bakhmut. He was driving a truck, picking up the wounded, when they were hit by a shell. He died of his injuries.
“A lot of the soldiers are so young; they didn’t realise it is not computer games. When my husband was with young people in Bakhmut, he told me they were so scared. They hadn’t realised the place wasn’t safe; that their life could finish in one moment. My husband was worried more about young people than himself”.
The Orkney Veterans’ Breakfast Club meets at various locations around the county, usually on the last Saturday of the month. It is open to veterans and serving members of all arms of the forces, Regulars and Reserves, from any country, and to their immediate families. It is just an opportunity to meet up with friends, old and new, have a chat and eat together. There’s no formalities, other than being asked about your time in the service. No admin and no fees; all you pay for is your food.
Breakfasts usually run between 0930 and 1100 (ish), although the next one is a bit different. In March they’ll be eating in Scapa Flow Museum’s cafe, on Hoy, and will be visiting the museum, afterwards. The boat leaves Houton at 0950, returning at 1530. It is a short walk between the pier and museum. Booking your place on the ferry, in advance, is strongly recommended.
The Veterans’ Breakfast Club continues to grow; there are now over 130 members in the online group with the number showing up for breakfast steadily growing. In February, a new record attendance was set when 36 got together in the Neuk Bar at the Albert Hotel, Kirkwall, where the staff worked very hard, getting them all fed.
The veterans’ are victims of their own success as, they are now unable to use many of the smaller venues they used to use. If you’re the owner or manager of a cafe, restaurant or pub, or any other establishment in the county that could cater for 30 – 40 people for breakfast, then they would really welcome your call.
For more details, please phone or email Simon, the group’s coordinator, or visit their Facebook page
07909 640884 – orkneyveteransbreakfastclub@outlook.com.
“We look forward to meeting you”
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