“Tables full of cakes, jellies and sandwiches” – Kingston Vale care home remembers VE Day

Home news

May 14, 2021

A care home in Kingston Vale marked the Victory in Europe Day anniversary with a special event. 

Residents at Care UK’s Sherwood Grange, on Robin Hood Lane, created their own bunting and sang along to the music of the day to reminisce and celebrate this historical milestone.

The home was adorned with the home-made bunting, which will also be used to decorate the garden throughout the summer. In 2020, then 100-year-old Vera received a gift of VE Day bunting created by her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. Residents were inspired by the gift and for 2021 anniversary the ‘Bunting Art Project’ was born which saw all residents colour and paint templates featuring VE Day motifs.

Born in Croydon in 1920, now 101-year-old Vera remembers the big street parties outside her house, which she attended with her new-born son, Robert. She said: “I remember children running around and tables full of cakes, jellies and sandwiches. I was very proud to wear my Home Guard badge”.

Vera still has kept an original VE Day programme booklet – it has always been one of her special possessions. Vera’s overall memory of the war was how friendly and helpful people were to each other during those years and her night-time roof patrol as part of her Home Guard duties.   

Rick Mayne, Home Manager at Sherwood Grange, said: “VE Day was 76 years ago, yet some residents remember it like it was yesterday.

“Many of them were still children at the time, so VE Day marked the beginning of a more worry-free childhood, while some residents remember being reunited with family members who had gone to war. Needless to say, this was an emotional time – which we all felt during our celebrations, even decades later.

“We had a wonderful time hosting our special celebration, and the bunting project was a great activity enjoyed by all involved. It was great to hear the heart-warming stories from residents – events like these are a wonderful way to encourage reminiscence, which can be really beneficial for older people, especially those living with dementia. We’d like to say a big thank you to residents for sharing their memories with us; they reminded us just how lucky we were not to have experienced a conflict of this scale in our lifetime.”

Sherwood Grange has been designed to encourage residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while remaining as independent as possible in a safe environment. The ‘Outstanding’ rated, state-of-the-art care home features a cinema, hair salon and art studio, and incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities. The layout of the building is configured into a series of individual suites, each having a dedicated lounge/dining room, to help facilitate the creation of close-knit communities.

To find out more about Sherwood Grange, please contact Customer Relations Manager, Jonathan Fahy, at jonathan.fahy@careuk.com or call 020 4502 8956.

For more general information, please visit: careuk.com/Sherwood-Grange