Erskine Veterans’ Charity has recently welcomed three new Trustees. Joining the Board are Jane Douglas, Air Commodore Kevin “Chesh” Cowieson and Mark Johnston.

Collectively the new Trustees bring to Erskine a wealth of skills and experience, all of which will benefit the charity which supports Veterans of all ages within three care homes and an Erskine Veterans Village.

Queens Nurse Jane has had a varied and diverse career. Initially with the NHS, Jane moved to care home nursing followed by management. Jane continued her work in leadership positions within the care home sector before transferring her skills to social work, latterly as the Principal Assistant with Scottish Borders Council.  On returning to the care home sector as an Executive Care Director and latterly as CEO she led the organisation to achieve Investors in People silver accreditation along with winning the Scottish Care Award for Care Home Provider of the Year, 2019 & 2020. On her appointment as Trustee Jane said: “I am delighted to be joining the Board of Trustees at Erskine.  I am looking forward to bringing to the table my experience gained from many years of working in care, in different sectors and organisational levels”.

Currently Commander Airbases, Chesh has served 34 years in the RAF.  On transferring to the Reserves from regular service, in late 2023, Chesh is looking forward to a portfolio career in consulting.  A life-long learner, he holds an MBA, an MSc in Human Resource Management, and a MA in Defence Studies. Chesh is a Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and experience in his new role as an Erskine Trustee.  He said: “As a future Veteran, the work of Erskine holds more than a passing interest for me and I am looking forward to beginning my work with my fellow Trustees”.

Chief Operating Officer of AGS Airports, Mark enjoyed several roles working in the global semiconductor industry before joining Glasgow Airport in 2004. He then went on to hold various positions within Glasgow Airport, including that of Operations Director, before being appointed Managing Director in May 2018. Mark was appointed to his current position in November 2020. As well as experience and knowledge gained from over 20 years in the aviation industry, Mark has a BA Honours in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Heriot-Watt University and an MBA from Glasgow University. Mark said of his appointment: “I am delighted to be joining Erskine as a Trustee. I am looking forward to working with my fellow Trustees to continue the magnificent work this iconic charity is renowned for”.

Erskine Chairman Stuart Aitkenhead said: “I am delighted Jane, Mark and Chesh have accepted our invitation to join the Erskine Board of Trustees. We constantly strive to ensure we have an exceptional range of expertise and skill sets within our Board. This ensures we have the correct supervision and governance across the organisation.  We are, therefore, delighted to be welcoming trustees with such extensive and relevant experience. We look forward to their contribution to the continued development of our strategy which seeks to ensure that the services of Erskine are relevant to the existing and emerging needs of Veterans for many years to come”.

To find out more about Erskine Veterans Charity’s work please visit our website at www.erskine.org.uk, follow on twitter @ErskineCharity via Facebook www.facebook.com/ErskineVeteransCharity or listen to Erskine Veterans Radio at Erskine.org.uk/radio. To donate directly to Erskine, please visit Erskine.org.uk/donate.

Erskine Veterans Charity is the trading name of Erskine Hospital | Company No. SC174103 | Registered Charity SC006609