Celebrate VE Day – but do it safely

Council, police and health chiefs have all urged people to stay at home and protect the NHS on VE Day, which marks the surrender of German troops to allied forces in 1945.

This year it is also a bank holiday, with residents in the borough planning to mark the historic day.

The Royal British Legion is taking the celebrations online this year, with live streams, online sing-alongs and teaching packs for youngsters.

Councillor David Stanley, the Mayor of Dudley, said:

“Although we may not be able to celebrate in the style or with the people that we had originally planned, I feel that the stay at home street party truly embraces the spirit of the Second World War. 

“Many more people now have a greater appreciation for the struggles that people during that time would have endured.

“I hope that residents will embrace the spirit of the day by dressing their homes, in red, white and blue and enjoy time in their gardens to celebrate this memorable anniversary.

“However, I must stress the need to follow social distancing rules.”

Sally Bourner, Chief Superintendent, Dudley Neighbourhood Policing Unit Commander, said:

“We want people to be able to celebrate VE Day – but we want them to do it safely.

“We know that many residents are planning to mark the day by staying at home and in their own front garden as part of the Royal British Legion Campaign.

“Like Clap for our Carers, this approach builds community spirit in a safe way, with people staying in their own homes and gardens.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people of our borough for complying with government restrictions which have been in place for the last seven weeks to save lives and protect the NHS.

“These current government restrictions continue and our policing approach remains engage, explain, encourage and enforce as a last resort.”

Dr David Hegarty, chair of NHS Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said:

“It is important that we all take the time to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day, however we need to ensure we do this in a way that’s safe for everyone – from our own homes, online and on social media.

“We understand there will be a desire to come together and celebrate with family, friends and neighbours. However it’s vitally important that we continue to practise the social distancing measures that we have got in place in order to protect the NHS and to save lives, like those who served in the Second World War did to protect our country.

“Thank you to everyone for working with us, this is a collective community effort and I’m proud of the positive response from the people in Dudley during these unprecedented times.”

For more information on the day’s celebration plans, including that of the British Legion, go to https://www.dudley.gov.uk/events/ve-day-75-anniversary-celebrations.

#DudleyStaysHome