More than 100 older guests from Yelverton and neighbouring villages had a brilliant time at a party specially organised by Yelverton Rotary Club for VE80 at the Yelverton War Memorial Hall last Sunday (May 11).

President Paul Williams, welcoming everyone, said: “I am delighted to see so many people gathered here today, enjoying each other’s company and sharing their experiences of the 1940s.”

Guests shared a range of fascinating memories.

One woman, who lived in London during the war, recalled spending five years sleeping every night in an air raid shelter.

Another guest told the remarkable story of her evacuation from Burma in 1941, along with her mother and grandmother, when the Japanese were invading and bombing Rangoon.

Meanwhile a woman originally from Staffordshire remembered how the Luftwaffe would drop their unused incendiary bombs over her area on their way home after bombing Liverpool.

The hall was beautifully decorated with guests entertained with a lively quiz featuring well-known questions from the war years and beyond, including memories of food rationing. Songs from the era saw a full house enthusiastically joining in—swinging and rocking along in their chairs!

Special thanks went to rotary club’s community services chairperson Pam Law for her hard work in organising the successful event, and to the Yelverton Co-op for generously sponsoring the food.