Oundle marks VE day
Oundle Town Council held an event in partership with a number of local organsiations to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day
Victory in Europe Day was marked by a community celebration and tea party in Oundle. An 80th anniversary commemoration event was hosted by the town council in partnership with the Royal British Legion, primary school and other partners on Thursday (May 8).
The choir of Oundle Primary School and musicians from Oundle School performed outside the main entrance of St Peter’s Church, before moving up to Abbott House for a VE Day tea for those who remember or were alive in 1945.
The event then moved onto Fletton Field for an official opening of the space with dignitaries including the Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire.
On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany surrendered, ending World War Two. Ever since, it has been marked with celebration and remembrance events across the world.
Ian Clark, the mayor of Oundle, said: “I think it’s important that we remember things for the right reason. I was quite surprised how poignant it was, we had a mixture of dancers, church bells, bands, vehicles, the primary school singing.
“There’s a brilliant book published called ‘Oundle’s War’ and it’s got lots of memories captured from people who aren’t with us anymore. We wanted to try and capture some of the memories and and it seemed a good idea to regenerate some of those for memories for the future.
“The tea party in Abbott House was fantastic, lots of stories from people aged over 100, including people who’d served – that was a lovely part of keeping their memories alive and sharing them with some of the cadets and pupils.”
Trees were also planted during the official opening of Fletton Field, which Cllr Clark said would commemorate VE day and also keep Oundle Town Council ‘honest’ and make sure that the green space is properly looked after and used.