The children of WWII: Erith care home residents share their memories
Residents at Heathfield Court looked back on their childhood memories of World War Two as the home celebrated VE Day
Residents at a care home in Erith, Kent looked back on their childhood memories of World War Two as the home celebrated VE Day.
Heathfield Court is a 66-bed care home providing residential, nursing and specialist dementia care.
The care home welcomed its residents’ families and friends to a special ‘street party’ to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Everyone was entertained by 1940s-themed singer Chloe who sang wartime favourites such as ‘We’ll Meet Again’ and ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’.
Many of the residents at Heathfield Court were children during the Second World War and shared their memories of growing up during wartime.
Barbara Sanderson, aged 86, and her husband Sandy have both recently made Heathfield Court their home. Originally from London, Barbara was evacuated to Cornwall.
She recalled: “It was a difficult decision and one which my family regretted, so we moved back home to London.
“Later during the war, I was evacuated again to Warrington, along with my mum, auntie and my cousin.
“Unfortunately, our hosts were not very nice to us, and it often felt like they did not really want us there.
“I do have special memories of VE Day, I remember we had a big street party where all of the neighbours pitched in to use their coupons to help cater for the party. It was quite the treat after living off rations for so long!
“There was music, singing and dancing long into the night!”
John Cobb, aged 88, has been a resident at Heathfield Court since February.
“I shall never forget standing on the Mall looking at Buckingham Palace on VE Day and taking in all of the celebrations, though the King wasn’t able to let me in to visit that day!” joked John.
The retired shop keeper was evacuated from his London home as a child. He recalled: “As a young lad I was evacuated to Oxford with by brother Charlie and our sister Barbara. We weren’t treated very well by our host family. I remember them getting us to do all of the jobs and tasks that the family didn’t want to do.
“I became very poorly while living in Oxford and had to return home to live out the war with my family. I remember being amazed to see all of the big trenches that had been dug in Hyde Park for people to shelter in if they found themselves in trouble.”
Resident Elizabeth Lutman – known as Ann – grew up in Shrewsbury so has very different memories of her childhood during the war.
“My father was in the Army, so as a girl I didn’t really know him at all as he was away serving his country,” said Ann, aged 87.
“Our family had a telephone, and I can remember soldiers would often knock on the door and ask to use the phone.
“I do remember children from London coming to stay in our town and having evacuees to stay in our house. It’s been interesting chatting to John and Barabara and comparing stories of our lives during the war.”
Lisa Avery, lifestyle lead at Heathfield Court, said: “One of our residents, Marjorie, is 103, she enjoyed taking part in the reminiscence and listening to the others share their stories.
“A few years ago, Marjorie made a video of her wartime memories, so we all sat and watched it together. It’s wonderful to have Marjorie’s stories documented on film.”
Home manager Nicola Martin added: “For us, VE Day has been a wonderful mix of celebration and reflection. It has been a great opportunity to come together and share memories.
“We feel very honoured to listen to the stories of our residents who belong to the Second World War generation.”
Heathfield Court is rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and in 2023 was one of the winners of the ‘Top 20 Care Homes London’ award with Carehome.co.uk.