VE Day 80th anniversary to be marked in New Milton by Lions Club concert at the memorial centre and community event on the recreation ground
A PATRIOTIC concert and a major community event with a vintage feel form the centrepiece of New Milton’s VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations.
The Lions Club of New Milton & District is marking the milestone over the weekend of Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May, in the lead-up to Victory in Europe Day on the 8th.
Organisers say Saturday’s concert launch at New Milton Memorial Centre will evoke a Last Night of the Proms-style atmosphere.
Sunday’s activities and entertainment on the recreation ground will be broken up by a national remembrance of the fallen.
Tickets are said to have been selling well for the VE80 Anniversary Commemorative Concert at the Whitefield Road centre, where the Band of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary will perform.
A wide repertoire is promised, and it is hoped the Proms-inspired second half will encourage much audience participation and flag waving. The concert starts at 7.30pm, but doors and the bar open from 6.45pm.
Adult tickets cost £12, children £6, and family tickets £30, with profits going to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and the centre’s refurbishment fund.
Book in person or call 01425 629451 or visit ticketsource.co.uk/nm-memorial-centre
The Lions Club VE80 Get Together runs on the green, off Whitefield and Old Milton roads, from 11am to 4pm the next day.
A packed line-up of live entertainment from the performance pavilion will include The Ffinellas from 11.20am with songs from the 1940s.
There will also be sets from the Military Wives Choir at 12.20pm and 2.15pm, and the Wessex Military Band at 1.15pm and 3.15pm.
Fun for children and the young at heart will be provided by three hourly performances of a traditional Punch and Judy show from 1.15pm.
A brief ceremony around 1pm will remember those lost during the Second World War. Forming part of the national commemorative events, this will include the lighting of the ‘Lamp of Peace’.
Large numbers of community and commercial stalls will cover the green, including from New Milton Men’s Shed, New Milton RNLI, and the New Milton Community Garden.
The New Forest for Ukraine, Friends of New Milton Station and community radio station The Tower will also be present.
There will be funky beach art, garden plants, cakes, jewellery and vintage clothing on sale.
Visitors can learn about the war’s impact on the town through a display laid out in Milton Heritage Society’s marquee. New Milton Sands WI will also offer a taste of wartime rationing.
A large display of military vehicles will include some from Greentrack Events, whose expert director, Peter Ryder, will give talks.
Refreshments, including cream teas, will be served by the Lions Club’s ladies, with more of the 1940s feel provided by its NAFFI marquee.
There will also be a bar in an old fire engine.
A funfair will offer vintage traditional activities, along with those more modern; and a children’s entertainer will be on walkabout.
Lions Club president Alan Watson said: “The Lions Club has staged events commemorating many anniversaries, but this event and the VJ80 event later in the year, will hold special significance for many in our town, who will have lost loved ones during the conflict.
“During the event, we will remember them, while echoing the extreme joy and happiness that was felt back in 1945 that at least the war in Europe had come to an end after six hard years of conflict.”
Boots has uncovered a rare ARP Wardens First Aid Kit which will be displayed in the heritage society marquee along with other memorabilia loaned by residents.
Those who have any such wartime mementoes they could loan to the Lions Club for the day should call Mr Watson on 01425 563472.
