VE Day focus in the daily council video update

Coronavirus lockdown may be muting the celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day, but today’s (Tuesday) daily video update (Vlog) from Buckinghamshire Council Leader Martin Tett provides plenty of ideas for marking the event in the spirit of social distancing!

Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), a national holiday on 8 May 1945 celebrating the end of World War II in Europe, is being marked by a bank holiday on Friday.

Joining Martin are Gina Nicholls, from the Library Service, and Katherine Gwyn, from the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies, who talk about what’s on offer to help residents in Buckinghamshire mark VE Day despite Covid-19 lockdown regulations.

Information services manager Gina talks about the libraries’ wealth of digital resources about World War II and, particularly, VE Day. There are plenty of links to newspapers and music from the1940s, novels about the times, and special edition e-magazines, she says, and lots of children’s e-books set in the war, along with pointers to myriad children’s activities, including how to make your own special VE Day 75 ‘Great British Bunting’.

Gina says: “All these resources can be accessed from your home completely firee with your library card.”

Katherine, the council’s senior digital collections archivist, provides an appetiser about how Buckinghamshire celebrated in 1945, recommends the Centre’s blog about the events of 1945, and appeals for VE day photos, stories and other memorabilia.

There’s a VE Day page on the Council’s website www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/events/commemorating-veday75-across-buckinghamshire/

Today’s Vlog can be found at: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/video-updates/

The daily Vlog, supporting the message #ProudofBucks, also provides an opportunity for people to ask questions via social media on how the council is fighting Coronavirus locally, what residents can do to stay safe, and how they can get involved in helping others – using the #askBucksCouncil Twitter hashtag.

Vlogs will also be shared daily on the council’s social media channels.

Daily updates about all council services can be found on the website at: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/community-and-safety/changes-to-our-services-due-coronavirus/