Schoolboy, aged 10, vows to keep visiting 90-year-old veteran in care home

Ten-year-old schoolboy Kian Donnelly has been having so much fun striking up conversations with an army veteran during his weekly visits to a care home, he has promised their eight-decade age gap won’t keep them apart.

Whether it be getting beaten in a game of draughts, learning about gardening or getting advice, the schoolboy says he’s proud of his friendship with nonagenarian Roy Melville which he struck up a year ago at Beech Manor Care Home in Blairgowrie, Scotland.

Kian Donnelly said: “Even though we met through visits set up by the school, I’ll definitely continue to come and spend time with Roy when I leave primary school, I really look forward to our games of draughts and whenever I have any issues or worries, Roy can more often than not help me out.”

“When I first met Roy, he was out in the garden every day, I started to help him if he couldn’t reach a flower bed or he needed a weed pulled out and we’ve been friends ever since.”

With no children of his own, Mr Melville is regularly entertained by Kian’s violin and piano playing and is being taught how to use an iPad.

The pensioner said: “In Kian I’ve found a great friendship that really means a lot – although he’ll never beat me at draughts, he’s learning fast.

“School for Kian is much, much different to my days and it’s great to be able to share some of the things I’ve learned."

After serving in the army in Israel and Egypt for two years, Mr Melville travelled the world with his wife Janet. They both moved to the care home in 2018 after she had a stroke and could no longer care for him.

Mr Melville said: “It was never the plan to move to a care home but when Janet had a stroke, we ended up here and we settled in straight away. It’s been great to meet Kian through life at the home and I look forward to our meetings every week.”

Kian is regularly seen pushing his friend in his wheelchair around the care home’s grounds as they discuss what's going on in their lives.

Surprised that the boy wasn’t being taught knitting at school, Mr Melville decided to teach him and the two friends are now making hats for premature babies in hospital.

The pair's friendship has been highlighted in Loneliness Awareness Week (17-21 June).

Sheila Baxter, activities co-ordinator at Renaissance Care’s Beech Manor Care Home, said: “During Loneliness Awareness Week, it’s really important that we are highlighting the special kind of friendships that for a lot of our residents can be the difference of no visitors to someone to look forward to seeing each week. “There may be an 80-year age difference between Roy and Kian but we’ve seen them bond over many different things to grow a great friendship that will outlive the programme we have with the local schools.”

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