The people of Comrie are to be asked to decide how a windfall left by a former Nazi soldier should be spent.
German prisoner of war Heinrich Steinmeyer never forgot the kindness shown to him by the people of the village and repaid the debt by leaving nearly £400,000 to the community.
In line with the wishes of the former Waffen SS soldier the money will be used to benefit local elderly people.
Details of the proposed legacy funded developments will be presented for discussion at a public meeting in the White Church in the village on the evening of Tuesday October 24.
Local people are also needed to stand for election to a committee to manage how the community’s choices are implemented.
An interim committee has gathered local views with nearly 300 returning survey forms.
Support for spending in five areas emerged – support and care, mobility and transport, social places/village venues, the village environment and leisure/activities.
The interim committee has finalised 20 developments for funding and will be delivering papers for a community vote on the proposals to local households at the start of next month.
Murray Lauchlan, interim committee chair, said: “The Steinmeyer legacy provides a great opportunity to improve the lives of Comrie older people in a variety of ways.
“People in Comrie are about to be asked to make choices about what improvements the bequest should fund.”
The story of Heinrich Steinmeyer’s legacy following his death in 2013 has captured the imagination of people around the world.
The 19-year-old soldier, who was captured in France, was eventually held in the POW camp at Cultybraggan by Comrie where he was surprised by the reaction of local people.
Throughout his captivity he was struck by the kindness shown to him, which he had not expected, and after the war he returned to Comrie and made lasting friendships with local people.
