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  • 12/06/2025
The streets were filled with people dressed the part for 'Faversham in the Fourties'

Many where remembering not only those who fought on the front line but the spirit of the British people joining the home front.

Etholle Reynolds reports.
Transcript
00:00On the 8th of May 1945, Germany officially surrendered and after nearly six years of
00:10fighting, World War II came to an end. All across Kent, towns have been celebrating VE Day.
00:18And the community of Feathersham has come together today to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
00:25There's a variety of stalls and even some familiar faces walking around. Many were dressed the part
00:31for Feathersham in the 40s. There was singing, dancing and even a historical figure wandering
00:37around. Well it's a marvellous event obviously. You only have to look just up this little street
00:42and there are people, all the stall holders are all appropriate but it's the visitors that are
00:48dressed up. They're bringing back the spirit of the 40s. Whilst remembering those who lost their lives
00:54fighting, the event also celebrated the work of the British people on the home front and one group
01:00that stood out was the women. They kept the nation going by knitting things, looking after children,
01:06digging in the fields, going to the factories. Things that they were never allowed to do before
01:10and I think it all brought the country together. Over three million women volunteered for the Red
01:16Cross and six million worked in factories. The Friends in the 40s group were helping to shine a
01:23light on some other home front efforts including the local defence volunteers.
01:29Yes, I think TV with Dad's army, very comical as it is, does give a slightly false impression of how
01:37things would have been but it was about the time when the threat of German invasion was particularly high
01:44the way. With Dunkirk happening as well, if things had gone the wrong way then Britain would have lost
01:50its army effectively and local defence volunteers would have been called upon if needs be to sacrifice
01:57themselves to help defend the country. The group was made up of men aged 17 to 65 who, for a variety of
02:06reasons, were unable to fight on the front line. Up and down the streets the spirit of the 1940s was as
02:13present today as it was 80 years ago. A brilliant atmosphere celebrating such an important time
02:19and day in British history.
02:28Etterley Reynolds for KMTV

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