THE public’s support for the military has been hailed by the Royal British Legion in Cumbria.

As the nation gets ready to celebrate the day the Allies declared victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, the Legion has thanked Cumbrians for their support.

Ellie Smith-Barratt is the Legion’s community fundraiser for Cumbria and the Isle of Man.

She started in her role nine months ago, and said she has been amazed by the support she gets from communities throughout the region.

And even though the nature of the celebrations has had to be changed due to the coronavirus lockdown, the inspiration of the Thursday Clap for the NHS, and the example set by NHS fundraising legend Colonel Tom Moore, proves that the country can still come together.

“I think the 75th anniversary of VE Day is something which we can celebrate in a really respectful way,” she said.

“We are in a situation where it is not just the military that are heroes in the front line of the crisis.

“I think Colonel Tom has probably has probably provided a timely reminder to us all, that if we put our mind to it there is something we can do.

“This is my first full year in this role, and I have to say that I have been absolutely blown away by the generosity of people, not just the financial support but the spirit of the volunteers too.

“We are currently seeing the generosity and spirit that the country has – at the moment we are seeing the best of our country.”

Ellie said that it is important to remember that today will be both a commemoration and a celebration. While it is important to remember those who fought and died for us, VE Day is also about celebrating the achievements of everyone who helped defeat the Germans.

“Remembrance Sunday in November is a more solemn occasion when we are focussing on the sacrifices made,” she added.

At 11am today, the Legion is encouraging people across all generations and communities to take part in a national moment of Remembrance and pause for a two-minute silence to honour the service and sacrifice of the wartime generation, and also take the opportunity to reflect on the devastating impact that Covid-19 has had on so many lives across the world.

Following the Silence the Legion is hosting a VE Day 75 livestream, sharing stories and memories from those who served and sacrificed in the war, and recognising the difficulties people are experiencing today. Hosted by TV presenter Sonali Shah, the programme will feature contributions from social historian Julie Summers and cook and influencer Melissa Helmsley. The programme will be live from 11.15am on the Royal British Legion’s website.

Later in the day the Legion has partnered with the BBC to honour and celebrate the war generation with an evening of memories and music on from 8pm on BBC One. Members of the public are invited to enjoy a moment of celebration and thanksgiving during the programme by taking part in a UK-wide rendition of Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again at 9pm.

Members of the public can access the activities at www.rbl.org.uk/veday75 and on social media using #VEDay75 and #VEDay75Live during the livestream.

Pam Weightman runs Artventurers for the Carlisle, Penrith and Keswick area, and is running the Big Neighbourhood VE Day 75 Family Festival.

She normally runs classes every Monday in Houghton Village Hall, near Carlisle, a baby artventures class for children aged 6-18 months, and a little artventures class for those aged 18 months to four years.

Before the lockdown, she had been planning a big celebration in the group – and the pandemic isn’t going to stop her, as they have drawn up a schedule of activities for all ages for the day.

Pam turned to Facebook to make sure people and families can still take part in the activities, and there has been a huge surge of interest.

“People just want something to do – everybody is a bit fed up at the moment,” she said.

“I remember as a child my nanna took me to a VE celebration at the Crown and Mitre in Carlisle. I had such a good time, but because I was so young I didn’t really understand what it was all about.”

Events start at 9.30am with Amanda’s Action Club, and continue regularly throughout the day, finishing with the national anthem at 6.15pm.

“People can go out into their garden and have a celebration amid everything that is going on at the moment. I am looking forward to it – we have all our stuff ready!” said Pam.

“People are posting ideas up on the Facebook group as well. Some people have been posting recipes from things they used to have on rations, and some people are even getting dressed up in wartime fancy dress.”

And she revealed that Artventures groups made sure that Colonel Tom Moore – who raised tens of millions for the NHS walking around his garden before his birthday – was helped with his centenary celebration.

“We made bunting for Colonel Tom’s birthday. We sent it to Artventurer’s HQ, and they sent it to him to put in his garden,” she said.