A former teenage Reservist from Airdrie who joined the Royal Engineers at 17 is helping fellow veterans find confidence, friendship and purpose as Armed Forces Day highlights the power of veterans supporting veterans.

Evonne McCord, 53, now Manager of the Erskine Veterans Activity Centre West, says the sense of duty and comradeship she found in the Territorials still shapes her work with former servicemen and women today.

Now living near Neilston, Evonne joined 124 Field Squadron Royal Engineers as a Territorial after a close family friend, who was a Sergeant in the squadron, suggested she come along. At the time, women had only recently been allowed to join the ranks and opportunities in the Armed Forces were far more limited than they are today.

She said: “I thought it was an amazing experience, a chance to learn new skills, teamwork and camaraderie. I very soon became interested in the Combat Engineer role. This included bridge building, watermanship, water supply, demolitions, mine laying and much more.

“I loved it. You mucked in and worked hard. The skills we were learning and putting into practice were incredibly important if we were deployed, but also in peacetime if there was any support required within the community.”

Although Evonne was not deployed, the reality of service became clear almost immediately. During one of her first training weekends at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, the Gulf War had just begun. She was still at school when she stood on parade and heard that reservists from 205 RAMC were to be deployed.

She said: “That moment has stayed with me. I was 17 and still at school, and suddenly it became very clear that this was not just training. It could become real. Later, many of the people I served with went to Iraq and Afghanistan, some more than once. That is why I feel so strongly that Reservists must be recognised. They carry the same possibility of service, deployment and sacrifice.”

More than three decades after first joining the Territorials, Evonne is using the values she learned in service to support other veterans through Erskine Veterans Charity.

She has worked with the charity for 11 years and has been with the Erskine Veterans Activity Centre West since it opened. Her role is not simply about providing activities. It is about helping veterans who may have lost confidence, routine, friendship or a sense of purpose find their way back to themselves.

For many former servicemen and women, the hardest step can be walking through the door. Some have carried the effects of military life for years. Others miss the structure, humour and comradeship that once shaped their days. Many struggle quietly before they are ready to ask for help.

Evonne said: “One of the parts of my job that makes me smile, feel proud and often emotional is seeing someone who came along to us at the Centre in a really difficult place in their life. To see them start to build confidence, feel better, take part in the activities and make friends is the best ever.

“It is so humbling to think of some of these guys now who are doing so well, and I am always thankful they found us here.”

Her story is one of veterans helping veterans. Evonne understands the language, humour, loyalty and pride of military life, but also the reluctance some veterans can feel when they need support.

She said the camaraderie of service is something that never really leaves people, even years after their military careers have ended.

Evonne said: “When veterans come through the door, they know they are among people who understand. That matters. Some people come to us when they have lost confidence or routine, or when they no longer feel the sense of belonging, they once had. To see someone begin to smile again, take part, make friends and believe in themselves is incredibly powerful.”

Ian Cumming, Chief Executive of Erskine Veterans Charity and himself a veteran, said Evonne’s story captures the spirit of Armed Forces Day because it shows how service can continue in another form.

He said: “Evonne’s story is about service, comradeship and continuing to stand beside others. She joined the Territorials at 17, at a time when women’s opportunities in the Armed Forces were still limited, and she has carried those values into her work with veterans today.

“Veterans will not always ask for help. Pride, stoicism and military culture can make it hard to say you are struggling. But when support comes from someone who understands that world, that first conversation can become possible.

“Evonne brings more than professional skill to her role. She brings lived experience, trust and an instinctive understanding of what it means to serve, and of why veterans need somewhere they can feel they belong.

“That is the future of veterans’ care & support. It is not just about waiting until people reach crisis. It is about building a resilient community around them, helping them recover confidence, dignity and purpose, and making sure no veteran feels they have been forgotten.”

For Evonne, Armed Forces Day is not only about public recognition. It is about understanding that service leaves a lasting imprint, whether someone served full-time or as a Reservist, at home or overseas, in wartime or peacetime.

Evonne said: “I am proud of my service, and I am proud to work with veterans now. These are people who have given part of themselves to others. When they find us, and we can help them feel better, it is humbling. That is what makes this work so special.”