As the country marks the 75th Anniversary of VE Day tomorrow, 8 May 2020, Royal Voluntary Service will stop to reflect and remember the ‘Women in Green’.
These are the women who stepped forward to volunteer support for their communities during the Second World War.
Originally founded in 1938 as the Women’s Voluntary Services for Air Raid Precautions (WVS), Royal Voluntary Service is the largest volunteering organisation in British history, and the charity’s volunteers continue to support communities across Britain today.
To mark the occasion, the charity will also be hosting a day of VE Day celebrations at the Virtual Village Hall, a new programme of online activities to join in with at home.
The day includes a live singalong of wartime songs just after 3 o’clock, a jive dance class and a 1940s hairstyle tutorial.
The Virtual Village Hall is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and features themed video sessions led by expert tutors, TV and radio personalities, and Royal Voluntary Service activity co-ordinators and volunteers. Live and pre-recorded sessions take place daily and include exercise, music and dance, relaxation and meditation, arts and crafts, cooking and baking, and technology skills.
The Virtual Village Hall is available via the Royal Voluntary Service website and all sessions are available to access on demand on the Virtual Village Hall YouTube channel.
Catherine Johnstone CBE, Chief Executive at Royal Voluntary Service, said: “Our charity was founded in extraordinary times and a million women came to support the war effort at home. Today we face a very different challenge and once again, our volunteers have risen to the task in hand, working hard to help people in need in local communities and to support the NHS. The Virtual Village Hall is a wonderful way to bring joy and connection into people’s lives while many are feeling isolated at home. We hope as many people as possible will join in with our VE Day celebrations.”
Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities with volunteers supporting thousands of people in hospitals and in the community. The charity is also one of the largest retailers in the NHS with its network of cafes and shops providing a valued haven in hospitals.
Three WVS members are fitting clothes onto three children in a clothing exchange store at an unknown location. A WVS member stands on the left fitting a shoe to a little child (girl). The second WVS member stands on the right fitting a coat to a child standing in front of her, another child stood to her left. The third WVS member is fitting clothing onto a child in the foreground. PHOTO © Crown copyright 
A WVS member fits shoes to a young boy in a clothing exchange at an unknown location in London. The WVS member is sat fitting a shoe lace onto a boot, a young boy sat on a chair waits for the boot. © Royal Voluntary Service 
Four WVS members are working at a table folding clothes and talking in a clothing exchange store at an unknown location. The WVS members are getting the clothes ready to pass across the table to two woman standing on the left taking part in the exchange. There is a sign stating the rules for woman attending the exchanges in the background. ©Crown Copyright 
American women are sorting bundles of clothing from the British War Relief of the United states, for despatch to badly blitzed areas in Dudley House, London. The women working around a large table laden with donated clothing in a room in the house. In the background are a number of large mirrors hanging on the walls and and chandeliers from the ceiling. See back of photograph for more information. ©Crown copyright 
Six WVS members put the corrugated iron roof on the shelter of a mobile feeding unit during an emergency feeding exercise in a school playground in Leytonstone, London. The mobile feeding unit is a corrugated iron shelter and kitchen that can be taken anywhere in a lorry and quickly erected to form a practical kitchen serving hundreds of hot meals. © Royal Voluntary Service
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