VE Day Celebrations

As part of our celebrations of the 80th anniversary of VE day, we were fortunate to be visited by Robert Judd, along with his wife Barbara, who shared his experiences of VE day in Marden and faced questions from a group of Year 5s and 6s. He talked through the celebrations he was involved in on the 8th May 1945: he recalled how there was a sense of relief amongst many, but how this quickly turned to patriotic celebrations with flags and parties. Robert also talked about what life was like as a child during the war (including at the school during air raids) and the children were fascinated to learn about how much Marden as a village has changed between the 1940s and now.

After the visit, the children happily recounted what they had heard and found out:  

"We found it amazing to learn about VE day from first hand experiences!"

"It was lovely to hear about the celebrations that took place in Marden when the war ended, how Robert found out this news when he was around a friends and that his mum found a George VI Coronation Union Jack to hang outside their home." 

"It was really fascinating to hear how Robin and Barbara have been in Marden all their lives and all the changes they have seen in that time."

"We loved finding out about how, because Robin grew up on a farm, any extra food they grew they traded with others for things they needed."

"We really liked learning about the rationing and what it was like in air raids when at school - we never realised the garage on the KS1 playground was one of the school's air raid shelters!"

As Robert was also born on the 8th May, we want to wish him a very happy birthday for Thursday - we hope he had a lovely day!