Celebrate VE Day bank holiday with socially distanced street party

Communities across the county will be marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday (May 8) and despite lockdown people will be able to join The Royal British Legion (RBL) in a day of celebrations.

The legion has invited people to commemorate Victory in Europe Day, the landmark date 75 years after Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies.

With members of the public no longer able to attend VE Day 75 events, the legion is calling on the nation to get involved from home throughout the day and pay tribute to the entire Second World War generation from British, Commonwealth and Allied Forces, to evacuees and those who served on the home front.

Gareth Price, Corby branch RBL chairman, said: "We will be doing our best to celebrate but the most important thing is to stay safe.

"I shall be joining in the VE Day celebrations from home. I'll probably have one or two drinks and, by the end of the week, the weather will be nice enough for us to sit outside.

"At 9pm we will be joining in the Vera Lynn sing-song of We'll Meet Again.

"The most important thing is to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, celebrate with each other but stay safe and socially distanced."

As part of the VE Day 75 live stream, there will be national moments of remembrance and thanksgiving.

Andrew Hunter, Wellingborough and District RBL treasurer, said: "We were going to have a church service to mark VE Day but now we would like everyone to join in a 'Stay at Home' party."The day will start at 11am with a two-minute silence on your doorstep. At 3pm there will be the Churchill speech shown on BBC and at 4pm will be having tea and scones or coffee and cake.

"At 6pm have your dinner and raise your glass to your neighbours. Finally, we will be joining in the nationwide sing-a-long to We'll Meet Again after the Queen's address."

At 11am the legion is encouraging people across all generations and communities to take part in a national moment of remembrance and pause for a two-minute silence.

Later in the day the BBC will broadcast special programmes to honour and celebrate the Second World War generation with an evening of memories and music from 8pm.

At 9pm people have been invited to enjoy a moment of celebration and thanksgiving by taking part in a UK-wide rendition of Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’.

The Royal British Legion’s assistant director of commemorative events, Bob Gamble, said: “As we face some of the most challenging times since the Second World War, now more than ever it is important to unite in recognition of people’s service to the nation, just as communities did 75 years ago.

“There is no right or wrong way to take part in the silence at 11am, some people may wish to stand at their windows or step outside their front door, but we hope that individuals and families across the UK will embrace the opportunity to share in a national moment of reflection.

"Then later on we invite people to open their windows wide and join us to celebrate and give thanks as we sing along to Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’, which has added poignancy in the current circumstances.

“There are many parallels between the struggles of the Second World War and what we are going through today.

"As we mark 75 years since Victory in Europe, we look to our Second World War generation to learn from their experiences, and the Legion continues our critical work to protect them from the threat we currently face.”

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