Mid Sussex charity Befriended hosts VE Day tea party

Befriended was set up in 2017 with the mission of ending loneliness and isolation among older people living in Mid Sussex.

The VE Day tea party, which was part-funded by a grant from Mid Sussex District Council, included a sumptuous afternoon tea, a performance of wartime songs by Sheddingdean Strummers, presentations by Befriended clients about their wartime experiences and a ballroom dance lesson.

“What a wonderful afternoon. I can’t imagine a more fitting way to honour VE day,“ said 86-year-old Dana Brisk.

One of the highlights of the tea party were the presentations from various Befriended clients about their memories of the Second World War and VE Day.

Anne Colby, 93, spoke about being an evacuee – she moved from her home in South London to Nutfield in Surrey at the start of the war.

“I was evacuated from London when I was 7. I had lost my mother the year before so was used to being on my own,” said Anne. “A lot of children who were evacuated were so nervous ‘cos they were just dumped at a railway station without their parents, put on a train and got off when somebody told them to.”

After 18 months in the countryside, Anne and her siblings moved back to London. She spoke about her experience of Doodlebugs and bombs.

“You’d stand there with your fists holding tight, because you didn’t know whether a Doodlebug would come down on you or not, because once they cut out, they came down and killed whoever was underneath,” said Anne. “And after that they had rockets and you didn’t hear them and that’s what hit our house. But fortunately none of us were killed, we just had to find somewhere else to live.”

Anne spoke about joining in the VE Day celebrations outside Buckingham Palace. “VE was such a glorious day. I went up to Buckingham Palace and there were thousands of us singing and dancing outside. We were just so happy, everybody was so happy, there was no nastiness at all,” said Anne. “It was an amazing experience being out there on VE Day, singing and dancing because we knew that was it – the war was over and we were going to be without bombs.”

93-year-old Margie Finch spoke about the VE day parties that she saw in London and her happiness that she would see family members who were fighting in the war again.

“[On VE Day] we got on a bus to go to my Grandmothers, and on the bus as you went down the main road, every side road had a bonfire in the road,” said Margie. “They brought out the neighbour’s piano and there was singing and dancing. The same when we got to my Grandmothers and it was the most joyous day of my life - my family were coming home!”

The VE Day presentations at the Befriended tea party were followed by afternoon tea, including homemade sandwiches, scones, cake and trifle. This was followed by a performance by local music group the Sheddingdan Strummers, who played various wartime songs including Vera Lynn’s song "We'll Meet Again", and the Noel Gay and Ralph Butler’s song "Run, Rabbit, Run".

The Befriended VE Day tea party was funded by a grant from Mid Sussex District Council and donations from Befriended ‘friends’. Befriended runs tea parties twice a month in Burgess Hill and Hurstpierpoint, and is currently looking for sponsors for its tea parties and bi-monthly newsletter. For more information, contact the charity (https://befriended.org/contact-us/).