Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of VE Day at Home Instead
As the nation honoured VE Day, we stood alongside them to salute our everyday heroes who lived, endured, and still carry their stories.
Home Instead Ascot, Camberley and Wokingham's 80th Anniversary of VE Day Tea Party
The one thing we can all enjoy is a good party. So, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and our amazing clients, we opened our Bracknell office to welcome clients, carers and families to our special tea party.
Before the party, our team worked hard to set our tables with Union Jack tablecloths and our best china tea sets, decorating the walls with pretty bunting. While brewing tea, they also cut cake, paying close attention to the mini trifles they knew would go down a treat. Soon it was time to open our doors.
And in they came. Clients, carers and families wearing red, white and blue, filling the room with their smiles, laughter, and stories.
It’s so important to spend that time together. We need to reconnect with our past and celebrate what makes us special: our ability to endure, persevere, always find hope, and steal away moments we will cherish. Events like this are also a great opportunity for those receiving home care to connect to those who provide their services on a different level. To hold a different relationship, one that offers understanding and an extension of community.
We’ve picked two stories to share in honour of our fantastic clients. We hope you will enjoy them.
Audrey's VE Day Story
Audrey was just sixteen years old when the war in Europe ended. Growing up in Lancashire during the Second World War, Audrey holds vivid memories of hardship, hope, and the sheer joy that swept through the streets when peace was finally declared.
During the war, Audrey contributed to the national effort by taking on war work as a factory weaver. Alongside her identical twin sister, she helped produce barrage balloons, which were an essential part of Britain’s defence system. The sisters stood side by side, weaving with pride.
Daily life was marked by rationing and making do with what little was available. She recalls the ration books, carefully counted portions, and how her mother worked culinary magic with limited ingredients.
Fashion adapted, too. With stockings in short supply, she and her sister turned to a popular creative alternative—painting their legs with gravy browning and drawing a line down the back to mimic the seam of real stockings. “Everyone did it!” she laughs. “You just couldn’t get stockings!”
Then came May 8th, 1945. VE Day. “The whole street had a party,” she remembers. “There were streamers and bunting in every window. Everybody wore Red, white, and blue if they could. Families gathered around their wireless sets to hear the announcement that the war in Europe was over.”
Arthur's VE Day Story
Like many of his generation, Authur’s early life was also shaped by the Second World War. Born in 1928, Arthur was just seventeen years old when victory in Europe was announced, but his memories of wartime London are still as vivid today.
Arthur spent his early years in Westminster, in the heart of London. When the war broke out, he was among the many children evacuated for safety. His first destination was Brighton, but as the fighting intensified and the south coast became increasingly vulnerable to attacks, he was moved again—this time to Chertsey, Surrey.
Life during wartime was anything but easy. Arthur and his family lived in constant worry; their family life was disrupted, and money was tight. But one beacon that shone brightly was his mother. She worked three different jobs to support the family. And her hard work and timing may have saved her life!
One day, while his mum was out at work, a bomb landed just across the road from their flat in Westminster. The family was spared in a tragic twist of fate—except for Arthur’s beloved Collie, Peter. Peter had been Arthur’s best friend and constant companion, and his loss is one Arthur still feels deeply today.
Among the memories of war are also moments of humour and youthful spirit. At school, Arthur made the clever decision to learn to type, admitting with a smile that it gave him the perfect excuse to sit with the girls. That skill later helped him land an administrative job in London, stamping and processing timesheets at a local factory. Returning to the city brought a sense of normalcy and even a bit of excitement as peace drew closer.
Arthur recalls the electric atmosphere on the streets of London on that first VE day, filled with flags, laughter, and music. “I went from party to party,” he says. “We made the rounds in our area to make the most of what was on offer. It was a day of pure joy. Everyone was just so relieved and happy.”
If you would like to share your VE Day celebration stories, join us on Facebook. While the day itself has passed, we’d like to continue honouring the elders in our community.