South Yorkshire residents invited to join virtual VE day celebrations

As the coronavirus lockdown enters its sixth week, Wickersley Parish Council has come up with a number of ways to help residents celebrate the anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on May 8 – marking the end of World War Two - from the comfort of their own homes.

An anniversary walk was organised for the day as part of Wickersley walking festival, where residents were invited to dress up in 1940s’ gear and walk to the War Memorial and to Winthrop Gardens for a Vparty.

However, lockdown measures mean the walk cannot go ahead as planned, so the council has invited those who wanted to take part to dress up anyway and promenade in their gardens – and then send a picture to the Facebook page to join in the fun.

A series of messages will also be posted on the page, from the Reverend Peter Hughes, St Alban's Church rector, Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey and Coun Sue Ellis, council chairman

People can also raise a glass and join those across the UK making a toast to those who gave so much, at 3pm, followed by afternoon tea in their gardens.

Coun Ellis said: “While Covid-19 has prevented us from going ahead with our existing plans to mark this important anniversary, we wanted residents to have the opportunity to mark this important day, so we’ve rapidly revised our plans.

"We’ve set up a Facebook page which will have a series of activities each day building up to the big national celebrations on May 8.

"There are many similarities to the adversity people faced during the war to the situation in which we all find ourselves now.

"The Second World War saw acts of heroism and self-sacrifice, a huge outpouring of community spirit and social solidarity – which we are seeing repeated today.”

The site will have lots of fun tutorials and quizzes to help prepare for the anniversary with different posts each day in the build up to May 8, including recipies, hairstyles, makeup, quizzes, swing dancing, and recollections from Wickersley people about their experiences of VE day.