Devonshire Court residents mark VE Day 80th anniversary

Above: (Left) Resident Edna celebrates VE Day at the Home. (Center) Resident Brian gives a talk about his time in the army. (Right) Resident Rosemary enjoys VE Day celebrations at the Home.

Residents at Devonshire Court, in Leicester, have marked the 80^th Anniversary of VE Day.

To honour the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, the Home’s staff organised a gathering for residents. They decorated Devonshire Court with British flags, led a singalong of songs from the 1940s, and the residents tucked into an afternoon tea complete with cupcakes and jam tarts.

101-year-old resident Edna remembers VE Day in 1945 very well. She was taking a few days’ break away at the seaside when all of sudden she began to hear people shouting

It’s over!

She says:

The shouts rippled through the crowd like a chorus, and people came out into the streets cheering and celebrating. It was such a joyous moment after enduring many years of suffering.

Resident Brian gave a talk about his time serving in the army to the school children at Brockshill Primary School, along with 15 of the residents of Devonshire Court in attendance.

Brian started his national service at 18 years old and was in the Essex regiment during the Korean War. He went into The Royal Army Pay Corps afterwards and was in the army for 22 years, where he was posted to many places throughout the world, such as Jamaica and Singapore. During his time in the army, Brian’s family was evacuated from Aden, Yemen, before Brian himself was medically evacuated due to bursting a blood vessel in his left eye.

Home Manager Juliet McNeilly says:

Marking the anniversary of VE Day is such an important event for our residents, many of whom served Britain during the Second World War. At Devonshire Court, it is a time where we reflect and remember all those who lived during this time and everything that they sacrificed for future generations.

[Summary: Residents at Devonshire Court, in Leicester, have marked the 80^th Anniversary of VE Day.]