“We spent the day dancing and partying with firemen” –Newbury care home recollections as VE Day is c

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May 24, 2021

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

Care UK’s Winchcombe Place, in Maple Crescent, hosted a street party-themed event to encourage residents to reminisce and celebrate this historical milestone.

The home was adorned with flags, balloons and homemade bunting specially for the occasion. Residents were treated to a British celebration buffet specially prepared by Winchcombe Place’s chef and enjoyed a VE Day-themed quiz while listening to 1940s songs. Team members also dressed in 1940s clothes to create an immersive experience, and residents were given the opportunity to share their memories of the historical day.

Among them was resident Rosemary Adamski, aged 93. Born in Sheffield, she moved around the world as her father was a brigadier general in the Royal Artillery. She remembers the big party at Newbury’s market place, where she lived at the time: “We spent the day in the market place dancing and partying with firemen, then I went to help make refreshments at the YMCA.”

Charles Macallen, 86, remembers the torch light parade which went through St. Andrews, where he was staying at the time, with big bonfires on the beach. He happily recalls : “Me and some mates kept throwing wood onto the bonfires and generally having fun as children do.”

Kerry Thompson, Home Manager at Winchcombe Place 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 indoor ‘street party’, and it was great to hear some 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.”

Winchcombe Place is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.

To find out more about Winchcombe Place, call Customer Relations Manager, Vicki Lambourne, on 0333 321 1923, or email vicki.lambourne@careuk.com

For more general information, visit careuk.com/winchcombe-place