Worcester care home invites local community to honour D-Day

A Worcester care home is opening its doors to the community for a commemorative ceremony.

On Thursday 6^th June, from 3pm – 7pm, Care UK’s Perry Manor, on Charles Hastings Way, 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 Perry Manor, 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. Team members will be dressed in wartime clothes and the culinary team will serve a delicious fish and chips for dinner. 

Everyone in attendance will be able to put names of loved ones lost in conflict on a memory tree and donate to Help for Heroes. Among the guests will be the Scouts, who will be helping residents and the community mark the occasion. 

As part of the celebrations, a video about the landings of war planes will be shown, followed by a talk by resident Mike Parsons, aged 83.

The lamp, which represents the peace that followed the end of World War Two, will be lit at 7pm, by Patricia Wurmli, who still remembers her experiences from WW2 clearly, when she was just 10yrs old. 

Patricia said: “I still remember the feeling from seeing people trying to dig out survivors from the rubble and the cold damp cellars or train stations we would have to run to during raids. It is important that we all remember these things and are able to commemorate the end of the war. I remember the happiness on everyone’s faces, kissing each other with joy. I remember the excitement of taking the tape from the blackouts down.”

Katherine Matthews, Home Manager at Perry Manor, said: “We’re passionate about building and maintaining relationships within our community here at Perry Manor, so we’re pleased to be opening our doors to mark the 80^th anniversary of D-Day for an afternoon of sharing memories.

“Reminiscence activities are a great way for older people, especially 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 – it’s been inspiring to hear everyone’s experiences and memories from wartime Britian.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming our friends and neighbours into Perry Manor as we mark this milestone by joining the nationwide lamp lighting initiative.”

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

Perry Manor is a state-of-the-art Care UK home, which provides full time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short term respite care. Rated outstanding by the CQC, the home is designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema, cafe and hair salon, with plenty of space both indoors and out for relaxation and recreation.