Family events mark VE day

OLDHAM families can share in celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of VE Day at the Imperial War Museum North in Trafford.

The end of the Second World War in Europe will be marked with free themed family activities on the May bank holiday weekend.

The museum will also be marking the 70th anniversary of the great wartime leader Winston Churchill coming to power with a series of talks.

VE Day is May 8 and the museum is holding Bank Holiday Big Bunting Workshops on May 1 and 3, from 1-4pm.

The VE Day Street Party at the museum, from noon to 4pm on May 8, will feature archive film of VE Day revellers and music from the 1940s.

The War at Home Big Picture Show is played at noon and 3pm every day in the museum’s main exhibition space, an audio visual experience of people who lived through the Second World War.

Unique and remarkable personal stories from the 1940s are on show alongside the large fire pump, used in Oldham during the Second World War.

To mark the anniversary of one-time Oldham MP Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister, the museum will be hosting a special series of talks and lectures on the first four Sundays in May.

Speakers include Imperial War Museum historian Nick Hewitt, as well as expert authors Graham Rhys-Jones, John Charmley and Karl-Heinz Frieser. Entry is free but booking is required on 0161-836 4007 or by e-mail to learning north@iwm.org.uk

Jim Forrester, Imperial War Museum North director, said: ‘’We show how war has shaped the lives of civilians and armed forces alike.

“Our May bank holiday events, commemorating the 65th anniversary of VE Day, will give younger visitors the chance to imagine what life was like in 1945.”