Care home residents have shared fascinating memories of the moment they heard World War Two was over in Europe as they marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a host of events.
Those who live at Colten Care’s 21 homes in the south include service veterans and others who were children at the time.
News that the war had finally ended came in a BBC radio newsflash on the evening of 7 May 1945, followed by an official announcement from Prime Minister Winston Churchill at 3pm the next afternoon declaring 8 May as VE Day and a national holiday.
It prompted widespread relief and rejoicing, with people taking to the streets to celebrate.
A number of Colten Care residents, some of whom lived in areas affected by the wartime Blitz, the Battle of Britain or preparations for D-Day, have been looking back on the end of six long years in which everyday survival featured gas masks, blackouts, air raid sirens, ration books and being evacuated from towns and cities to safer locations in the country.
At Abbotts Barton in Winchester, residents Frances Burns and Auriol Whitworth recall the momentous day. Frances, 85, said: “I was about six years old. I remember we had a big party and a sports day. There was a big bonfire and they burned a figure of Hitler on top of it. Everyone cheered!”
Auriol, 94, said: “We were in school when it was announced and I remember we were all allowed to do silly things for the rest of the day.”
Wendy Barnes, who lives at Bourne View in Poole, said: “I lived in Salisbury during the war, on the road to Wilton. I was 14 years old and remember every child being given a day off school. However, I loved school and was proud that I had never missed a day, making it in even on snowy days. So, I was really pleased to return to school the following day so I could study for my school certificate.” Wendy went on to be a teacher at the Bournemouth School for Girls grammar school.
Pauline Gamble, a resident at Braemar Lodge in Salisbury, was a 22-year-old ballet dancer with what was then Sadler’s Wells Ballet, later renamed the Royal Ballet, in London. Recalling the hours after a performance of the comic ballet Coppélia, a special change of programme for VE night, Pauline said: “By now, everyone was ready for a party to celebrate victory. There was great rejoicing in the streets. The lights came on and everyone was hugging the nearest person, whether one knew them or not.” Pauline and her fellow performers then went to party at the mews home of ballerina Gerd Larsen in Knightsbridge. “Quite a lot of us gathered to celebrate,” said Pauline. “Gerd was an excellent cook and had made the most amazing meal in next to no time.”
At Brook View in West Moors, Dorset, 85-year-old Wendy Lucas recalled: “I was five years old and my dad came home with bananas. It was the first time we had seen bananas!”
At Kingfishers in New Milton, Hampshire, 99-year-old Alan Havelock said: “I was at home in St. Neots near Cambridge recovering from measles. There was a fete on the square and all the events were free. At the back stood a bumper car track. I danced with my mother and we both drank wine. It was simple, beautiful and unforgettable.”
Shirley Thompson, who lives at Whitecliffe House in Blandford, said: “I had just left school and heard people shouting ‘we are free’. We threw everything in the air.” Likewise, fellow Whitecliffe House resident Ruth Horrocks said: “I was in the garden about 12 years old and I threw the gardening tools in the air.”
Three residents at Abbey View in Sherborne recalled VE Day.
Rose Cavanagh said: “I remember going to the town square in Rathfriland where I lived with my family in Northern Ireland. Because I was 16, I was allowed out with my friends. There were bands and parties, and we enjoyed celebrating with the crowds.”
Roy Carne, who was 17 and at his family home in Cornwall, said: “I clearly remember VE Day, as I had shingles! My father took me to Helston Floral Day where a band paraded through the streets and in and out of the houses. Unfortunately, we had to leave early because my dad had to get home to milk the cows!”
Muriel Martin, who was 17, said: “I remember walking down the street where I lived, and I saw a man wearing a celebratory hat cutting his hedge!”
Residents of Canford Chase in Poole also shared their memories.
Joan Etheridge said: “My mum was a nurse, and looked after neighbours and people returning from war. When the war ended I remember the news was given to us by our mum and we helped bring tables, chairs and other furniture outside and we had a big street party with everyone bringing different foods.”
Mary (Myra) Poppleton: “I was staying with family and we had a party all together in the street, with singing and dancing. It was tinged with sadness for those we lost along the way.”
To mark the VE Day 80th anniversary, all 21 Colten Care homes in Hampshire, Dorset, West Sussex and Wiltshire have hosted community events.
They included afternoon teas and ‘street parties’ with homes and gardens decked out with Union flags, bunting and 1940s memorabilia.
Residents from Kingfishers also attended a VE Day-themed theatre production at nearby St Mark’s Church in Highcliffe and an anniversary celebration at the New Milton Recreation Ground organised by the Lions Club and featuring both the Military Wives Choir and the Wessex Military Band.
Pat Dartnell, who is 102, said of the Lions Club event: “It was a heartwarming afternoon that honoured the past while celebrating the resilience and joy of the present.”
And fellow centenarian Kay Karnhem, 100, said: “We had a great time. It was really nice to see so many people enjoying the event. Truly remarkable.”
In Lymington, Hampshire, three residents of Colten Care’s Linden House – Nigel Bendell, Frank Johnson and John Porter – were invited to join the standard bearers for the official VE Day memorial service at the town’s St Thomas’s Church.
And three service veterans from Braemar Lodge in Salisbury – residents Douglas Parish and Doreen Bowell and Home Manager Jackie Cash – took part in the lighting of the VE Day beacon in the nearby town of Downton.
