WHEN Graham Hanlon’s grandfather died, he uncovered a secret which made his heart sink.

The 30-year-old East End man had adored his grandpa William MacGregor, who was a huge inspiration in his life.

But when the 85-year-old war veteran passed away earlier this year Graham found dozens of diaries his grandad has written to his wife who had died 10 years earlier.

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“He was just lonely, I realised.”explained dad-of-three Graham.

He said: “Reading these I felt a tremendous amount of guilt.

“There were a lot of nice things in them - he was talking about his children, grandchildren but he was just so isolated, so lonely.

“Once you shut the door at night, that was him on his own.

“Reading the diaries really broke my heart but I wanted to do something to help other people like that.”

After his grandad’s death William decided to set up his own Community Interest business to help men who are isolated, as well as military veterans and people who are trying to get in to work.

A joiner by trade, Graham has spent more than £13,000 developing East End Carpentry - a workshop based in Bridgeton which he hopes can change lives.

Graham, whose great grandad, grandad and his own father were all in the military, said he wanted to reach veterans who have left the service.

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He said: “A lot of my friends went into the army as well as my relatives.

“When we were leaving school there weren’t a lot of options - You couldn’t get an apprenticeship, and you weren’t smart enough to go to uni you had to just join the army.

“A friend of mine who was in the army has spoken to me quite openly about it, and says he may be fine one day and snap the next.

“It made me really think about the impact it can have on people.”

The business has already provided training days to members of Glasgow's Helping Heroes, and Graham hopes to encourage more people who are interested in the workshop to get in touch.

Jobs and Business Glasgow's business adviser David Hughes, who has helped Graham to start his business, said: “Graham’s a very motivated person who has already achieved so much on his own to set up his business and we are now providing him with additional support to help make it a success.

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" Our social enterprise team are [helping] him with a long-term plan to turn the business into a Community Interest Company, and the work he’s done so far with Glasgow’s Helping Heroes shows his dedication to making the venture a real asset for the community.”

The business will celebrate its launch at an event later today, and a special plaque and photograph dedicated to Graham’s grandpa William will also be revealed.

For more details about the business see @eastendcarpentrystudios on social media or www.eecarpentrystudios.co.uk