Press release -
Enham Alamein village with special WWII link to commemorate VE Day 80th anniversary with community event
- Village renamed after WWII due to war time role
- Postmistress & Parish Chair co-ordinating village commemorations
- Community picnic, live music, old-fashioned games & cake
- Village will be decked with VE Day 80 decorations
The Hampshire village of Enham Alamein, which had an important role in World War II, will be marking VE Day with a community celebration on Saturday 10 May.
Cllr Leslie Francis, who is postmistress for Enham Alamein and is also the village Parish Chair, is co-ordinating the village’s 80th anniversary commemorations for Victory in Europe Day.
The village will be decorated ready for VE Day, which is on Thursday 8 May, including a VE Day post box topper and bunting. There will be a community picnic with live music and old-fashioned games, including hopscotch, which will be held two days later on the nearest Saturday. There will be a big cake to mark the occasion.
In World War II many of the injured from the famous Battle of El Alamein were brought back to the UK and many were cared for at the recovery centre in Lower Enham.
In 1945, £250,000 was donated to Enham for the gallantry of British forces at the Battle of El Alamein. This generous donation allowed the village to build their disabled ex-servicemen's centre. In thanks, "Alamein" was added to the village's name to become Enham Alamein.
The close association of servicemen and the village continued during and after the war. Enham Trust is a leading disability charity, supporting around 7,000 disabled people each year to live, work and enjoy life. It provides homes and person-centred care and support so individuals can live the life they choose, supported access to work, skills development, and confidence building, and a range of accessible opportunities that support individuals’ mental and physical wellbeing enabling them to enjoy life.
In 2022 Enham Trust became part of Aster Group, which has made a big investment to improve nearly 300 homes in Enham Alamein and the community facilities to support them. A new community garden is planned.
Enham Alamein village still remains a centre for charity work and supporting others. Fundraising takes place over the year with competitions, raffles and events at the shop and Post Office to raise money for charities that support the local community led by Postmistress Leslie Francis.
Five years ago, the Enham Alamein community, with its close links to World War II, had big plans for a VE Day street party scuppered due to Covid 19. Leslie with the Parish Council instead delivered flags to homes throughout the village to help local residents celebrate.
Enham Alamein Postmistress, Leslie Francis, said: “In May 2020 we’d had big plans to mark the special 75thanniversary of VE Day with a street party, but that could not happen due to the coronavirus lockdown measures. We had to adapt our plans, but we still marked the occasion. We had a war time tribute duo who performed outside the Post Office. People came out of their homes to wave their VE Day flags and to hear the music, whilst social distancing. It was very uplifting for the whole community.
“This time we can mark the big 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day without those pandemic restrictions that we all had to follow five years. This will be a wonderful opportunity for the whole community to gather together for a celebration picnic and to enjoy each other’s company whilst listening to live music. We can remember our village’s unique WW2 and the Allied victory with Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on 8 May 1945.”
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