Colten Care residents in the New Forest paid their tributes to Queen Elizabeth II with respect and reminiscence.

Homes held special get-togethers and prayer services, staged poetry readings, opened books of condolence and created space for reflection.

At Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst, residents shared their memories over afternoon tea.  

John Denby remembered the day of the Queen's coronation in 1953 when he was a policeman. He recalled having to stand on London Bridge for many hours in all the rain.

Shirley Jolliffe recalled going to a garden party at Buckingham Palace because her father was a senior civil servant. Many celebrities were there, the actor Sir John Mills being one of them. Shirley was only a young girl, but she remembered how she and her family couldn't get anywhere near the Queen because of all the famous people round her.

Joan Sweet said she was always struck by the Queen’s beauty, adding: “She always seemed to put people at their ease.”

Also at Woodpeckers, Molly Wolstenholme and Patricia Cowen both agreed that the funeral was lovely and that an amazing amount of planning must have gone into it.

At Linden House in Lymington – a dedicated dementia care home and, like Woodpeckers, officially rated Outstanding – residents were supported to engage with the funeral and mourning period as they wished.

Companionship Team Leader Chris Dimmick said: “Many chose to watch documentaries about the Royal Family which led to a few reminiscing about meeting or seeing the Queen. One resident had been a tour guide at Windsor Castle.  

Many were philosophical about the Queen’s passing and concentrated more on her being a woman in a position of power and a working mother at a time when it wasn’t fashionable. 

We had interesting conversations about the changes of the second Elizabethan era, what we thought the new reign of King Charles III will bring, and the changes we will see in currency, stamps, post boxes and so on.

We had a hymns and praise session where we gave thanks for the Queen’s life and work, and read poetry written for the occasion. We will be planting a rose or shrub in our garden to commemorate the Queen.”

At Belmore Lodge in Lymington, new arrival Louisa McIntyre shared with fellow residents that she used to be a royal milliner, making lots of lovely and iconic hats for the Queen.

Companionship Team Leader Sharon Semple said: “It was lovely of Louisa to share with us her scrapbook of all the pictures and press photos of the hats that she made for the Queen. We felt very honoured that she was happy to share this with us.

We also created a dedicated area at Belmore Lodge in memory of the Queen’s life, with a display of words and pictures from residents.”

With more than 30 years’ experience, Colten Care is an award-winning family-owned care home company. It owns 21 quality care homes covering Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex and offers a range of services spanning residential, nursing and dementia care. Seven of the homes are rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission and Colten Care earns a consistently high group score, currently 9.9 out of ten, on the public review site Carehome.co.uk. Based on such third-party advocacy, Colten Care is the UK’s highest-rated care home group for its size.

All homes are registered for nursing care and four are dedicated dementia care homes with Admiral Nurse support. Unlike people who receive domiciliary care in their own homes, residents in Colten Care homes have the reassurance that 24/7 nurse-led care with companionship is on hand whenever they need it. Residents live in the highest standards of accommodation, enjoying homecooked food, fresh laundry and housekeeping services, and safe, peaceful and inspiring gardens. Colten Care also supports residents to raise thousands of pounds for charities of their choice every year. Founded more than 35 years ago, Colten Care has won multiple awards for the quality of its care and remains an independent, family-owned care home provider. For more information, visit www.ColtenCare.co.uk

Colten Care operates six residential nursing and care homes in the New Forest, three of which are rated Outstanding and three of which are in Lymington: Belmore Lodge, Court Lodge and dementia specialist Linden House (Outstanding). There are also homes in Brockenhurst -Woodpeckers (Outstanding), New Milton - Kingfishers (Outstanding) and Mudeford - Avon Reach. Click on the links to find out more about each home...