The Queen visits Haig Housing in Morden

Today Her Majesty The Queen visited Haig Housing Trust in Morden to officially open their new housing development.

Haig Housing is the country’s largest military housing charity, with over 1,500 properties across the UK, providing affordable and accessible accommodation to armed forces veterans and their families, and also offers the opportunity for the most seriously injured veterans to get onto the property ladder and become joint owners of homes that have been specially adapted to suit their needs.​

Haig Housing were one of six beneficiaries of the Tower of London ceramic poppy installation to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War.

The Queen has been Patron of Haig Housing since 1952, and 70 years ago, in 1949, opened one of the charity's estates in Jersey.

During this morning's engagement Her Majesty visited two of the new 70 homes on the development, which have been specially designed to meet resident's needs.

Alan Spencer lives on the Morden estate and met The Queen  to demonstrate the wheel chair facilities provided in Haig Housing homes. Alan, his wife and their two children, have lived on the Estate for 14 years.  Alan served with REME for 8 years, and then a further 3 years in the Reserves.

Alan suffers from encephalitis which has resulted in several strokes and significantly impaired mobility which required him to give up working. Instead he threw himself into voluntary work. Over the years he has raised nearly £30,000 for the Trust.

The Queen also met Royal Air Force veteran Ken Souter, who served with 73 squadron from 1940 and flew Hurricanes in North Africa. Her Majesty recently sent Ken a birthday card to celebrate his 100th birthday.

After meeting more residents and schoolchildren from the London Borough of Merton, along the Queen Elizabeth Terrace - a block named in her honour, The Queen unveiled a plaque to declare the development officially open.