Residents at Perry Manor take a trip down memory lane to the 1940s

Home news

Jul 19, 2018

Residents at Perry Manor took a step back in time to the 1940s with a special trip.

The team at Perry Manor arranged for residents to enjoy a day at the Black Country Living Museum’s 1940s themed weekend.

Brenda Taylor and Mary Apps, had a made a wish through the home’s ‘wishing tree’, to visit the Black Country Living Museum together. The Care UK team made their wish come true and the pair spent the day immersing themselves in the sights and sounds of wartime Britain – including traditional entertainment, food and fashion. 

On arrival, Brenda and Mary made their way through the militarily checkpoints and were handed their very own identity cards. They then spent the day strolling around ‘1940s Britain’, from taking a trip down a canal in a vintage canal boat, to experiencing a live air raid scenario. 

The day brought back many memories for both the residents. They saw a traditional 1940s home where a family of nail makers lived, leading to Mary reminisce about her childhood, as her father was a nail maker. After the visit Mary said, “I couldn’t have asked for a better day.” 

Brenda, who was born in Nottingham in the early 1940s, said: “The trip to the museum was the best day I’ve had all year.

“The whole trip was fantastic, in particular the canal ride with the projections in the mine – it felt like I was right in the action! I was lucky enough to spend time with one of the volunteers who let me push an old-fashioned pram around. This brought back so many memories from when I was little and helped my mum push my siblings around, while she was busy making our ration list.

“I would like to thank the team at Perry Manor for arranging the day for Mary and myself, it was wonderful, much better than we ever imagined.” 

Perry Manor home manager, Katherine Matthews, said “We are always looking to plan interesting and exciting activities for residents andreminiscence is incredibly important for older people. We were delighted to arrange the trip to the Black Country Living Museum for Brenda and Mary.

“It proved to be a fantastic day out, and you could see from the residents’ reactions just how much they enjoyed the nostalgic journey back to the sights and sounds of wartime Britain.”