A 92-year-old armed forces veteran on Thursday offered a spare room in his to house to shelter Syrian refugees fleeing war and destitution.
John Spicer spoke out about how the now famous photos that surfaced of Alan Kurdi washed ashore on a Bodrum beach brought back moving memories from his own history working to help desperate dying masses flee persecution in the Middle East.
He and his son Frank have both signed up to a scheme which will see them take a refugee family into their three-bed house, the pair hoping their gesture will “inspire other people” to do the same.
Frank shared an image of his father decorated with medals worn on last year’s Remembrance Day, quoting John saying: "Well, if it inspires a few people to do something to help then that's fine. We've got a spare room and it would be a shame not to put it to good use."
Frank told The Independent his father was “a really humble, lovely man” who, upon being asked if the family could take a refugee family into their home, said: “Yes, of course, that’s a good idea.” They soon signed up to the Homes for Syrians website.
John continues to work as a volunteer with the St Vincent de Paul Society, a Parish-based charity, which works with the local communities most socially excluded people. Praising his father, Frank said: “My dad is a fantastic, wonderful person.”
“We’d like it to inspire other people. We want them to think that if a man of that age can bend over backwards to help people out, then why can’t they?” he added.
The touching move comes just days after Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Britain will take in 4,000 Syrian refugees a year until 2020.
Speaking on Monday, Cameron labelled both the migrant and refugee crises "the biggest challenge facing countries across Europe today" and promised to do more to aid Syrians fleeing the human-rights abusing regime of Bashar al-Assad.