A VE Day message from Councillor George Illingworth, Chairman of Warwick District Council and Chairman of the Royal British Legion Kenilworth Branch.
There are many parallels between the struggles of the Second World War and what we are going through today. We look to our Second World War generation to learn from their experiences, and we continue our work to protect them from the threat we currently face.
With members of the public unable to attend VE Day 75 events, The Royal British Legion is playing a central role in the delivery of a range of remote activity, including:
- National moments of Remembrance and thanksgiving, including a Two Minute Silence at 11.00am
- A live VE Day 75 livestream at 11.15am
- A national toast at 3pm
- A UK-wide singalong to Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again at 9pm
- A VE Day learning pack for children aged 7-14 years
- An evening of memories and music in partnership with the BBC from 8pm on BBC One
At 11am, we're encouraging people across all generations and communities to take part in a national moment of Remembrance and pause for a Two Minute Silence to honour the service and sacrifice of the Second World War generation and reflect on the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on so many lives across the world.
There is no right or wrong way to take part in the Silence, some may wish to stand at their windows, step outside their homes while remaining distanced from others, watch the broadcast on television, or simply sit in a quiet moment of reflection.
More information is available on the main VE Day 75 page on the main RBL website.
More locally.......
The West Mids Area Team want your videos!
The RBL Area Office want you to send us your lockdown videos of you and your household thanking the VE generation for their work and sacrifice 75 years ago. Make it as fun and unique as possible but remember to do it from home! The videos will feature in a piece we're putting together which will be sent to VE Day Veterans locally and posted on to social media channels. The video should be short and needs to be with us before 7th May (so we can edit it together for the day itself).
Send your videos to westmidlands@britishlegion.org.uk. Use WeTransfer if the file is too big for email. Alternatively, ask us for our WhatsApp number and you can send the video direct to our Administrator Dawn.
Bake for VE Day
Working with West Midlands Police, regional RBL teams are being asked to ‘bake for VE Day’ and send in pictures of their baking creations! Breads, Cakes and biscuits – we’d love to see them all! Send pictures of your creations to westmidlands@britishlegion.org.uk or share them via our Social media channels:
https://www.facebook.com/WestMidsPoppyLegion/
http://www.twitter.com/westmidspoppy
Bunting and Resources
There is a raft of resources out there for your VE Day celebrations. We collated a few of them here which you may wish to share with friends and families. We’ve also attached some great bunting that our CFR for Shropshire has made which can be printed.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4TrqYDyf4PMdLypxzyTwGDg/great-british-bunting
https://www.ryman.co.uk/blog/free-downloads-activity-sheets-and-colouring-pages-for-kids
https://ve-vjday75.gov.uk/toolkit/
https://www.veday75.org/downloads/
Enjoy and stay safe, all the best from the Royal British Legion Kenilworth.
