Stratford-upon-Avon care home invites local community to honour D-Day

A Stratford-upon-Avon care home is opening its doors to the community for a commemorative ceremony.

On Thursday 6^th June, from 11am - 4pm, Care UK’s Ambleside, on Evesham Road, is welcoming local people to honour the 80^th anniversary of D-Day with its very own lamp lighting ceremony. 

To commemorate the Normandy Landings on 6^th June 1944, Care UK is partnering with royal pageant master Bruno Peek, CVO OBE OPR, coordinator of ‘D-Day 80 Lamp Light of Peace’. Along with charities supporting the three forces and the Merchant Navy Association, over 100 Care UK homes will take part in this nationwide tribute.

At Ambleside, the team have been hard at work organising a special event which will see residents and guests enjoy a 1940s-themed party, complete with bunting, flags, and popular wartime songs from singer, saxophonist, and flutist – Music by Eve. Team members will be dressed in wartime clothes and the kitchen team will serve a delicious wartime menu featuring ‘Called up too young’, a cream of baby carrot and parsnip soup, ‘Your country needs ewe’, a homemade mutton stew, ‘Churchills gunpowder chicken curry’ and ‘In the bun-ker’, wartime fruit buns with custard.

Everyone in attendance will also be able to decorate cupcakes and reminisce with members from the British Legion. The Scouts, Guides and the Blind Veterans will mark the special occasion with a parade around the home’s garden and guests will also be able to admire a large mosaic of a spitfire, created using photos of every resident with a British flag. 

The lamp, which represents the peace that followed the end of World War Two, will be lit at 3:30pm by Joyce Boland, aged 99, who was 17 when she joined the army. Joyce was responsible for driving top army generals including Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the USA. 

Aged 19, Joyce married her husband Oliver, who was the first pilot of Glider No.92, carrying No.2 Platoon of the Coup-de-Main force to Benouville Bridge, over the Caen Canal. He was just 22 when he landed the second glider next to Pegasus Bridge, in Normandy, which led to the bridge over the River Orne being captured intact, contributing to the success of future operations.

Joyce said: “It’s an honour to be asked to light the lamp of peace. I have some great memories of my time in the army, and I remember this day like it was yesterday.”

Charlotte Levin, Home Manager at Ambleside, said: “Here at Ambleside, we’re passionate about playing an active role in our community, so we’re delighted to be joining a nationwide initiative by opening our doors to mark the 80^th anniversary of D-Day.

“Reminiscence activities are a great way for older people, and those living with dementia, to connect with those around them and help maintain a sense of identity, and in the run up to the day, residents have been sharing their own stories and memories – it’s been fantastic to hear everyone’s experiences and learn from one another.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming new and old faces into Ambleside for what we anticipate will be a heartfelt afternoon for everyone involved!”  

To find out more about how Care UK is supporting the initiative, please visit: careuk.com/dday-80th-anniversary

Ambleside is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, dementia and nursing care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable its residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema, café and hair salon, and there is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation.