He may be most at home pulling pints in the Rovers Return, but the new bar at Broughton House has a special place in the heart of Coronation Street star Antony Cotton. Antony officially opened the bar after money he won on a celebrity version of the TV quiz show Tipping Point was spent on the veterans’ mess. The actor, who plays factory worker and barman Sean Tully in the soap, is an official ambassador of our charity. And he was thrilled when they called him to say that his winnings had helped to fund the bar and that they wanted him to come along see it for himself. Antony became an ambassador of Broughton House in 2019 in honour of his late grandfather Oswald Cotton, a proud Salfordian who served with the British Army during the second world war. Antony said: “It is absolutely fantastic to see how they have spent the money and how much the veterans love it. “I spend all my spare time in the military world, and the mess is so important, it is the centre, the hub.” Antony could not wait to meet our veterans and serve up the drinks. Two of the residents are D-Day veterans – Peter Belcher and David Teacher, who are both 99. And it was emotional for Antony making the connection between Peter and David and his own grandad Oswald who was at Dunkirk himself. “I love hearing everyone’s stories. It is absolutely astonishing to find out that Peter was at Pegasus Bridge, as my grandad was at Dunkirk. He is 23 years younger than my grandad. He would have been a young soldier serving at the same time and he is still here today to tell the tale,” Antony said. David said: “Having this veterans’ mess is fantastic. It was my idea that we needed somewhere to socialise. It is great to be able to come in here and have a natter, find out what’s going on and enjoy the artists that they put on for entertainment.” Ruth Tomlinson, 83, moved into Broughton House with her Army veteran husband William four months ago, but William sadly passed away a month later. Their daughter Helen Stevens said: “My dad was terminally ill, so we were caring for him at home for 18 months before that. It was so good for them to be able to come here together because I knew they were safe. Having everyone here together with a military background, shared experiences is wonderful. It is just a shame dad didn’t get the chance to take full advantage of it.” Coronation Street fan Ruth now enjoys spending social time in the mess, and couldn’t wait to meet Antony and have a chat over a glass of wine.
