We all know them: the members, new or long-term, who individually make a massive difference to their community through their Legionnaire activities. Many of them defy the outside stereotype of Legion Scotland members – expected to be of a certain generation, gender and service history – and bring a different perspective to their branch.

It would be impossible to speak to all of these shining heroes, but highlighting some of the hidden faces of Legion Scotland shows the variety and value of the thousands-strong membership. Here, we look at how a few stalwarts came to be part of their local branch, and how one person’s energy and commitment can impact their community.

Carnoustie’s catering legend

Kirsty Macdonald is a well-kent face in Carnoustie. She first encountered the Legion Scotland branch and club in the early 1980s and has been a regular fixture ever since.

“I was working with disabled people at the time,” she says. “I was a domestic science teacher, and I was working with children in Broughty Ferry. A work colleague said to me, ‘We’ve just bought an old church hall in Carnoustie and we’re turning it into a better Legion [Scotland club] than we’ve got at the moment, would you like to come see it?’

“We went along and there’s this huge hole in the floor, quite a depth beneath the floorboards. This head appears over the floorboards, and I thought, ‘What have I done?!’”

It hasn’t always been plain sailing. Kirsty describes “a totally male-dominated” club with “rude men” who were less than open to her ideas and contributions in the early days. It took a good few years before she began to feel accepted and listened to.

“I was starting my own business as a caterer at the time, so I started doing some catering for them for functions and, gradually, I became accepted. I joined the committee, and I’ve been on it ever since.”

Her responsibilities are varied: catering for the annual Remembrance event, public convener of Carnoustie and district, coordinating the weekly food bank, working with her daughter on the local database… It’s a remarkable list of commitments.

Davie Paton, current chair of the Carnoustie branch, says, “Kirsty Macdonald is one of very few people who are known across a whole community simply by their first name. Kirsty has always realised that, for our Legion branch and club to survive, it has to be seen to be a benefit for all in the Carnoustie community and she was instrumental in starting the food bank.

“Kirsty maintains the database of all Carnoustie Legionnaires and, during Covid, initiated the weekly ring-a-round whereby every Legionnaire who wanted one got a weekly telephone call to make sure that they were alright. It’s a service that continues today. Kirsty spends so much time in the club that the joke is that she should move her bed there!”

Next month, discover how a chance encounter on a night out led one Nairn man to find a new community.