Pateley Bridge came together with colour, music and bunting as it celebrated 75 years since Victory in Europe.

The town fell silent at 11am this morning before people began to set up in their front gardens for afternoon tea.

Residents in the town said it was important to come together as a community for VE Day while still abiding by the government’s social distancing guidance.

Andrea the singing NHS nurse entertained her whole street in Knaresborough with a special wartime inspired performance.

She was due to perform in the town centre as part of a much larger display but coronavirus meant that it needed to be cancelled.

Florin Drive turned out in numbers and in high spirits to watch Andrea perform and clap for one minute for veterans at 4pm.

The coronavirus crisis meant that streets in the city of Ripon and towns and villages in the surrounding rural areas remained largely empty, as people respected the government’s call to maintain social distancing.

However, celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe was still in evidence in red, white and blue window displays and bunting.

Ripon City Council which had planned three days’ of events involving celebration and commemoration, followed its own advice, when Town Clerk Paula Benson put a red, white and blue display in the Ripon Town Hall Windows.

In Masham, the window of insurance brokers R.F. Broadley, featured a rare collector’s item copy of the Northen Echo, dated Tuesday 8th May 2020 declaring ‘Today is VE Day’.

Just down the street, off Market Place, a private house (pictured above) had its V for Victory salute made out of Union Jacks. while two large Union Jacks and garden bunting decorated another private house in Main Street, Kirkby Malzeard.

The Cathedral clock struck 11am and Ripon fell silent for two minutes, as people reflected on those who lost their lives in World War II and specifically the war in Europe.

The city, home to The Royal Engineers and with a proud military heritage dating back to the First World War, remembered its dead both in the streets and houses and through a virtual VE Day ceremony inside the ancient church of St Peter and St Wilfrid’s.

Nestling next to the Cathedral is The Royal British Legion Garden of Remembrance, where small wooden crosses, each carrying a name and a poppy, stand as testimony to those from the city who lost their lives in conflicts.

Jack Middleton, who formerly served with the Army Air Corps and his partner Georgia Nelson, stood in silence with heads bowed.

Both (who feature in this video) have grandfathers who served in the Army and Jack told The Stray Ferret:

“With our families’ military connection, remembrance of those who fought and lost their lives is a tradition we will always observe.”

Following the two minute’s silence, the Cathedral’s virtual service began on YouTube and included a reflection from The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Rt. Hon. Dr John Sentamu, along with readings from the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Mrs Jo Ropner; a lesson from Councillor Jim Clark, the leader of North Yorkshire County Council; and prayers from the Dean of Ripon, the Very Reverend John Dobson.

Music and singing was provided by the Black Dyke brass band; Dishforth Military Wives and Ripon Cathedral assistant organist Tom Coxhead, who gave a fitting finale to the service by playing William Walton’s ‘Spitfire Prelude’ – originally written for the 1942 film ‘The First of the Few.’

Streets across the borough have turned red, white and blue today, as people celebrate VE day.

The Stray Ferret has been speaking to residents across the district about what VE day means for them and their families.

As lockdown continues many people have spent time turning their gardens into a colourful tribute to war veterans who liberated Europe from Nazism 75 years ago today.

This History is written for The Stray Ferret by Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam:

On Tuesday 8^th May 1945 a full sized likeness of Adolph Hitler gazed across West Park Stray surrounded by a replica of his Mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. It had been placed there as the crowning display of a huge bonfire and assembled by the Harrogate Home Guard, who, at dusk, stormed the display, and to frantic cheering from the assembled townspeople, captured the effigies of Hitler and his cronies, before the Mayor lit the bonfire that burned “Berchtesgaden” to the ground. Beyond this scene of rejoicing, Harrogate was a sea of bunting and the flags of allied nations, which filled not only the town centre, but nearly every suburban street as well. In the main shopping streets at the town’s centre were displayed large portraits of the King and Queen, Prime Minister Churchill and allied leaders, Field Marshall Montgomery and other military luminaries.

Street party Harrogate 1945

Joyous crowds surged through the town centre that day, whose drab and neglected appearance, the result of five years, eight months and five days of wartime austerity, was temporarily brightened by brightly coloured displays, although the need to conserve energy precluded the use of gas or electric power, exceptions being made at the Royal Baths, and Municipal Offices where Mayor G. Spenceley had greeting the crowds gathered in Crescent Gardens. People continued to surge through the centre of the town throughout the day, despite heavy rain showers, although the streets cleared in time for both the Prime Minister’s broadcast, and the King’s speech.

Harrogate residents pose for VE day 1945

The borough court continued to function on VE Day, the main business being concerned with granting licences for dancing and extensions for liquor and music, all essential aspects of the coming celebrations on the following Sunday, which at the request of the King, would be a day of national thanksgiving and prayer. A service was planned at St. Peter’s Church attended by the Mayor and full Corporation, followed by a brief ceremony at the War Memorial in remembrance of the fallen. In the afternoon, a grand parade was to occur on West Park, when participants would include American military personnel, units of the Home Guard and Civil Defence, representatives from the British Legion, St. John Ambulance Brigade, the Scouts and the Guides. Flag bearing youth groups present included the Sea Cadets, Army Cadet Corps, Air Training Corps, Girls Training Corps, Boys Brigade, and the Civil Defence Messengers. After a short open air service, the parade marched via West Park and Parliament Street to the Municipal Officers in Crescent Gardens, where the Mayor took the salute from a specially constructed platform. The Mayor’s rousing speech reminded the townspeople of the ordeal they had undergone, and that until Japan had been overcome, the resolve of the people must be continued. He ended his speech with the sincere thanks of the entire Corporation for what the townspeople had achieved through their great sacrifice.

This History is written for The Stray Ferret by Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam:

At the outbreak of war on 1st September 1939, Harrogate’s population experienced the greatest transformation of its history. There was a big influx of evacuated civil servants and their families from London and other major cities which the government feared would immediately be subjected to mass bombing. In addition, hundreds of evacuated children were billeted in the town. And then, within weeks, the town was made the centre for the allied pilots training scheme, whereby hundreds of pilots and other airmen – British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealanders, Indians, French, Polish etc. – eventually received training in the struggle against Hitler. Within weeks, Harrogate was crowded, the air being filled with often strange accents, some recognisable, others unfamiliar. 

Then there were the new norms to be observed. Strict rationing of food, fuel and power, and the disappearance of many valued consumable objects from the shops, where queuing became an unwelcome practice. Conscription emptied the town of its young men, and so many of its young women took on new and unaccustomed work roles that the older generation predicted a social revolution after the war. 

Harrogate’s schools were provided with air raid shelters, and staff and pupils drilled in what to do in case of an attack.  All children had to carry gas masks, as the horrors of the First World War were still within living memory.  

Ploughing on the Stray 1941

Within a month of the start of hostilities, the Stray was used to graze sheep, but in June 1940, the Council agreed to plough 102 acres to grow crops. The Valley Gardens flower beds were converted into vegetable plots, but as the local dogs caused too much damage, the beds were planted with annual seeds instead. Land throughout the town was used to provide allotments, including areas of the Stray at Leeds Road, the railway sides, the Granby and Empress. Several huge water tanks were put up around the town to fight fires, with one of the biggest located on the Stray opposite Victoria Avenue. 

Salvage was collected assiduously, with most of the town’s ornamental railings being torn up and carted away. Pig bins became a common site, and even the grandest of houses kept a bin where scarp food was stored for weekly collection, although these soon became a source of complaint as they became smelly. 

The town received a visit from a solitary Nazi bomber on 12th September 1940 when bombs were dropped on the Hotel Majestic, destroying the hotel’s great Wintergarden, a house in Swan Road, and blowing out nearly every shop window in the town centre. Naturally this only stiffened morale, which received a great boost when Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Field Marshall Montgomery visited Harrogate in 1944, where they were photographed with the Mayor at the railway station. 

The bombing of Swan Road Villa 1940

 Although the Royal Hall and the town’s six cinemas were all closed at the outbreak of war, due to fear of mass bombing, they soon reopened and provided much needed entertainment throughout the conflict. Many local amateur groups flourished, as did groups from the evacuated civil servants and the various military forces stationed in the town. At the highest of professional levels, all the big London theatres sent their shows to Harrogate, and in 1941 alone, visits were made by the Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells, The Royal Ballet, the Old Vic, and the London Symphony Orchestra.  

Humour thrived, and the British Restaurant chain became the butt of many jokes about gristle, bone and lumpy custard, Harrogate’s British Restaurant being housed in Wesley Chapel’s School Room. At an official level, the Council agonised about the future of the Spa, and everyone knew that things would never be the same again when peace was declared.                                  

Malcolm Neesam- Biography

Malcolm Neesam was born in Harrogate and graduated from the University of Leeds as a professional archivist and librarian. He subsequently worked in Hereford, Leeds, London and York where, for twenty-five years, he was North Yorkshire’s County Music and Audiovisual Librarian.  Malcolm is a much-published author. In 1996 Harrogate Borough Council awarded Malcolm the Freedom of the Borough for his services as the town’s historian.

This is the first time Malcolm has written for The Stray Ferret- and we will be publishing much more from him in the future as he has kindly agreed to write many histories of Harrogate for us in the coming year.  We hope you enjoy reading them. 

Elderly residents in Harrogate have shared their memories of VE Day as the country prepares to mark its 75th anniversary tomorrow.

Continued Care’s staff have spoken to their elderly residents, who were young men and women when on May 8, 1945.

One woman who was 15-years-old at the time recalled how there was a huge street party on Albert Road, with every house flying Union Jack flags.

She described seeing tables laid out from one end of the street to the other, with enough room was dancing in the road and footpaths.

A loud speaker played records by Vera Lynn and other famous singers, and the tables “bulged with food” such as jellies, trifles, sandwiches and pies.

She said: “I don’t know where all the food came from; it was like magic. We hadn’t seen so much food for months! There were bananas, and one or two children didn’t know what to do with them. They didn’t know whether to eat the whole lot or to peel it!”

Aged 16 on VE Day, one man described a street party on Mayfield Terrace, where residents of each house brought food and joined in.

He added: “This lockdown now feels like it’s bringing the wartime back again. Everything was rationed then and you couldn’t get much to eat.”

Photo: VE Day 75

Another Harrogate resident, who was brought up in London and spent much of the war in bomb shelters, described how she would pick up shrapnel as she walked to school.

However, she added: “I always felt perfectly safe. It was very strange, really.”

Aged 17 on VE Day, she said she would be marking the 75th anniversary with her neighbour while observing social distancing rules.

She said: “My neighbour has said we are going out in the front to do a bit of celebrating. I said I would be quite happy to do that. I can sit on the porch – and I’m sure there will be a glass of wine somewhere!”

Continued Care’s director Samantha Harrison said: “For those of us who did not live through the Second World War and for whom VE Day is a moment in history, it’s easy to forget that it is still very real for the older generation. It’s a privilege to hear them recall their memories in such vivid detail, and we are proud to be caring for them today.”

Art workshops, exercise classes and even beer-tasting will all be on offer this weekend as HG Community Lockdown Fest gets under way.

The event, masterminded by Harrogate women Rebecca Oliver and Catherine Wright, is designed to replace the weekend of activities cancelled because of the coronavirus lockdown. Rebecca said:

“All the things you take for granted on a bank holiday weekend – going to the coast, spending time with friends and seeing family – is all out of the window. We wanted to offer interesting things for people to do at home.”

Interacting in real life may not be possible, but the lockdown festival brings together dozens of local businesses to offer events online, which can be booked via its website.

There is no charge for the events, but people are being encouraged to make a donation – as much as they can afford – if they take part. The proceeds will be given to Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity (HHCC).

Among the activities include dance classes, a children’s puppet show, a clubbercise session and karate lessons. Artist Anita Bowerman (pictured above), Yorkshire Garden School and Born of the Forest will all run events themed around the great outdoors, while walking tour guide Harry Satloka will bring a mix of local scenery and history to people’s homes.

Harry Satloka will bring his walking tours online for the lockdown festival

Major Tom’s Social is running a live beer-tasting, with packs available to order and collect in advance, and Harrogate Library will be hosting story time for younger children. As well as holding a training session on Saturday afternoon, Harrogate Town AFC will be auctioning off signed shirts throughout the weekend to raise more money for HHCC.

The programme, which runs throughout the bank holiday weekend, also includes an opportunity to join the two-minute silence for VE Day at 11am on Friday, as well as the toast at 3pm. Rebecca added:

“We aren’t limited, space-wise, in terms of what we can do. Avoiding too many smaller things clashing but I don’t think it matters because a lot of it is going to be recorded, so you can always come back to things at another time.”

The planned commemorations may not be possible, but across the Harrogate district, communities are preparing to ensure that the 75th anniversary of VE Day is marked.

Bunting, music and afternoon tea will be the order of the day on Friday – all carried out in line with social distancing guidance.

Nationally, the Royal British Legion is encouraging people to join with a two-minute silence at 11am and a UK-wide sing-along of Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again at 9pm.

Locally, towns and villages are organising acts of remembrance to be carried out together from a distance. Groups of neighbours are also planning socially-distanced street parties through the day.

Residents are being encouraged to decorate their homes to mark VE Day

North Yorkshire County Council chairman Jim Clark, who represents Harrogate Harlow division, said: “This anniversary was never just about looking back at something that happened 75 years ago, and the situation in which we find ourselves today makes that even more pertinent. 

“Then, as now, it is about community spirit. The theme of Holocaust Day this year was Stand Together. While we can’t do that physically, we can in spirit. We can stand together in remembrance and thanksgiving, against hatred and prejudice and for building stronger communities. 

“I encourage people in towns and villages across North Yorkshire to take time to reflect and to remember in their own way.” 

Harrogate

In the town centre, displays of vintage vehicles, a parade by the Army Foundation College and a Spitfire on show by the war memorial have all had to be cancelled, along with a concert at the Royal Hall. Instead, community groups are helping to make the day special for people at home.

Oatlands Community Group is encouraging people to raise a cup of tea at their doors or windows at 4pm to mark VE Day together. Other events and commemorations include:

• a photographic slideshow trail on Harrogate Library’s Facebook page
• afternoon tea for one being delivered to vulnerable people supported by Oatlands Community Centre, along with a postcard reproduction of a wartime scene drawn by schoolboy Will Robinson, printed on the back with the lyrics of We’ll Meet Again
• activity packs available to be downloaded free or can be delivered by post at a cost of £1.75 from MyLifePool community enterprise
• Yarn Etc on Knaresborough Road is encouraging people to make and keep knitted or crocheted bunting ready for a community project at a later date
• HG Community Lockdown Festival will be a weekend of events to bring people together virtually for activities and entertainment

Knaresborough

The Knaresborough Royal British Legion is encouraging people to mark the occasion from home. As well as joining local and national activities, they want people to share photographs on social media of how they have marked the day.

Branch vice-chair Dave Houlgate said: “As we face some of the most challenging times since the end of the Second World War, now more than ever it is important to unite in recognition of service to the nation, just as communities did 75 years ago.

“There are many parallels between the struggles of the Second World War and what we are going through today. We look to our Second World War generation to learn from their experiences.  The Legion continues its work to protect them from the threat we currently face.”

The branch’s planned refurbishment and re-dedication of the VE/VJ seat in the castle grounds will be rescheduled for VJ Day in August. Meanwhile, on Friday:

• Knaresborough Delivers will be bringing afternoon tea to households in the morning, supplied by local businesses including Six Poor Folk, McQueen’s Cafe, Number Thirteen and Hirst’s Bakery. (Pre-order by 2pm on Thursday.)
• 11am – two minutes’ silence 
• 4pm – town-wide clap for veterans  
• 4pm – sing-along to We’ll Meet Again

Ripon

Ripon Cathedral was preparing to host the county’s official commemorative service. Social distancing may have stopped the service from going ahead in the building, but it will proceed online.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Rev John Dobson, will lead the service. The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, will speak, while the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Mrs Jo Ropner, and Coun Jim Clark will also give readings. Dishforth Military Wives Choir and the Black Dyke Band will also take part, and assistant organist Tom Coxhead will conclude the service with William Walton’s Spitfire Prelude. Watch online via the cathedral’s website. 

Ripon library will showcase Newby Hall Archive on its Facebook page, in partnership with West Yorkshire Archive Service, along with newspaper articles from the time. Residents are also being encouraged to decorate their windows in red, white and blue, while Union flag bunting has been strung across Princess Road.

• 11am – broadcast on YouTube of virtual service from Ripon Cathedral
• 3pm – city-wide clap to mark the time when Winston Churchill announced the end of the war in Europe

Boroughbridge

A planned town-centre celebration, including a ceremony at the war memorial followed by community activities, has had to be called off. However, the united parish of Aldborough, Boroughbridge, Dunsforth, Minskip and Roecliffe are at the heart of the newly-planned commemorations.

• 10.30am – community singing in gardens (lyrics on the churches’ website)
• 10.50am – online prayers led by the Rev Karen Gardiner
• 11am – national anthem and blessing

Pateley Bridge

Residents are being encouraged to dress their windows in red, white and blue, while bunting is going up in Greenwood Avenue ready for the commemorations.

• 11am – The Last Post played through loud speakers across town, followed by a two-minute silence and Reveille
• 11.02am – playing of I Vow to Thee, My Country (lyrics on the St Cuthbert’s Church Facebook page)
• after – everyone is encouraged to enjoy picnics in their gardens