Rosemarie Heggie - Obituary

When Rosemarie Heggie was 14 years old her family home was destroyed in The Blitz.

“The whole street was taken out. My mum and dad were killed. I was very badly burned by the fire, but incredibly lucky to be alive because I was buried under rubble,” she told Blesma Magazine several years ago.

Rosemarie had to go through a major ordeal afterwards, too. “I was pulled out of the debris but I was in a lot of pain and my right leg had to be amputated below the knee. It was a real shock.”

After she recovered Rosemarie was first sent to Brighton to live with her uncle, before moving to Northern Ireland to live with her grandmother.

“I grew up on their farm. It wasn’t easy being on crutches all the time, but I got used to using my prosthetic leg, and I learned to ride a bike and drive a car,” she said.

Disability didn’t stop Rosemarie. She found work in Belfast at the War Pensions Welfare Service before eventually returning to England when her life-long best friend Alice got married there in 1962.

It was in England that she would meet and marry her much-loved Jim. One other constant throughout her life was Blesma.

“They sorted me out with my first prosthetic leg, so they’ve helped right from the start,” Rosemarie said. “They also sorted me out with a stairlift and a wheelchair.

“The best thing about Blesma is the care they take of you. I don’t have to ask for anything. My Support Officer is lovely and is always making sure that I’m doing OK. It’s a wonderful charity.”