VE Day 75: Flypasts, festivities and reflection as Shropshire salutes WW2 heroes
Shropshire has saluted Second World War heroes on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in lockdown.
Many commemorative events had been planned in towns and villages across the county, but they all had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It didn’t, however, stop people celebrating the momentous day and honouring fallen comrades.
The Plough Inn in Wellington usually has a fun day on the May Day bank holiday to raise money for Help for Heroes, but had to cancel this year. Instead they had a small socially-distanced gathering with a few dignitaries, a bugler and a singer.
The pub has raised £160,000 for the charity in 11 years of doing the event, and landlord Ed Lowe thought this might be the year that they hit the £200,000 mark. Alas, it wasn’t to be, and they made the best of a bad situation.
Ed said: “We had a singer who was very good, a bugler played The Last Post and the mayor of Wellington Anthony Lowe was here. It went well and people were out in the street, paying their respects.
“We were hoping to hit the £200,000 mark but we’ve got to do exactly what the government says. Some people have lost their lives. We just lost the day.
“We’ll be back bigger and better next year.”
Also in Telford a plane flew above carrying a banner saying; “Thank You Heroes, Past and Present.”
In the afternoon just before 3pm was the Nation’s Toast, when people raised a glass to those that made sacrifices for our freedom.
Residents in a Telford street enjoyed a Highland fling as teacher Ian Pool played When the Battle’s O’er and VE75 on his bagpipes.
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Ian, who is a cover supervisor at Telford Priory School, regularly plays at Burns Night suppers and remembrance services at the school.
He stepped out into his street in Shawbirch, kilted up, ready to play.
He said: “I’ve been playing for a few years now, the City of York pipe band taught me how to play.” He was one of around 3,000 pipers around the world playing at the same time.
Elsewhere, shoppers at Waitrose in Newport were treated to VE Day music by a saxophone player as they stood in a socially distanced queue before entering the store.
And Telford dance group Dance Dynamics UK recorded a special video which featured members dancing and lip syncing to Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again, while some dressed up in classic 1940s military regalia.
Beckie Shaw, from the group, said: “We hope it sets the day off well and helps with the celebration.”
At Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, health care assistant Belinda Morris and staff nurse Helen Silver wrote poems for VE Day.
They read them to a piano rendition of We’ll Meet Again performed by Michael Jenkins, partner of Naomi Penrose of the hospital’s comms team.
Belinda said: “I’ve always used poetry as a creative outlet and I’ve written poems for my colleagues and patients on MCSI in the past, so it was a real pleasure to be asked to write something to help the hospital celebrate VE Day, during these challenging times we’re currently in.
“I wanted to write something that got across the feeling of respect and gratitude to those soldiers, who fought for us.”
Meanwhile today’s heroes at Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital honoured those of yesterday by posing for VE Day photos.
Ann Hartley, Chairman of Shropshire Council, said: “It’s so important that we continue to remember those who gave so much for us.
“There are many similarities in the struggles of the Second World War and what we are going through today. We’re facing some of the most challenging times since the Second World War came to an end in Europe and Japan.
"With the similarities between then and now, it is more important than ever that we come together to recognise the service to our nation, just as Shropshire communities did 75 years ago.”
