The Wollaton Royal British Legion joined together to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day at a special event last weekend.
The group hosted a day of festivities on Saturday (May 10) to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, which signified the end of the Second World War on May 8, 1945.
Alex Walters, 44, has been a part of the Wollaton branch for around six years, and believes it is vital to always remember the sacrifices made which allow us to have the lives we do today.
Alex has close family members who were involved in the war, both on the frontline and in roles at home, and so commemorating events such as VE day is very close to her heart.
She said: “We owe a great thank you to the people that put themselves at the forefront to protect the country.
“Both my grandparents fought in the war and my gran worked in the munitions factory, another gran stayed at home with four children not knowing if her husband was going to come home.
“For me it’s very sentimental, it’s a real pride thing.”
Robert Walker, 62, said that his family connections to both World War’s are what led him to join his local British Legion.
Bob’s great uncle was killed in the Second World War while working in bomber command on Lancaster Bombers.
And he spent hours researching what had happened to the entire crew, hoping to connect with his family history.
Bob added that we should always come together to commemorate events such as VE Day to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes again.
He said: “I think if we don’t learnt the lessons of history then we are condemned to repeat them.
“I think it’s important to remember those who gave their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy.
“And it’s absolutely true, particularly in this day and age when there are so many threats still to our freedoms.”
Matt Stone, 59, joined the service in 1984 and was part of the Royal Engineers.
He said that he particularly enjoys being able to connect with others who have been in the service, saying there is a sense of ‘camaraderie’.
He said: “The Royal Engineers have a meeting here every month, but on the other days when I do come in here there’s a few other blokes from other regiments, and we have a laugh and we have a chat.
“It’s just nice to be able to talk to people that were in the service.
“It’s also nice to talk to people who weren’t in the service.”
Matt added that while the Legion is a club, anyone is welcome to join, and he believes it is vital that we keep community centres, such as this one, going for years to come.
