1940s Day
It’s 80 years since the end of the Second World War. To reflect on wartime life and celebrate victory, Wymondham Heritage Museum is staging a 1940s Day on Saturday July 5th, 10am to 5pm and admission is free!.
There is a packed programme of displays and activities for both adults and children all in addition to the museum’s existing permanent war displays which include Masters of the Air, the recreated Anderson Shelter and the Echoes of Valour display.
The 40s event includes:
- Live music of the period with The Swingtones
- Military vehicles, re-enactors in period costume
- Stalls offering local produce such as honey, jams, marmalade and traditional sweets. Handmade by Granny: bows and accessories. American stall with peanut butter, cookies etc.
- Ration cards for children to exchange for sweets at the museum’s Damgate Stores
- Readings by Tina Chamberlain including a poem specially written for the museum plus extracts from prisoner of war Frank Chamberlain’s diary
- Town Tours with Georgette Vale as Ethel Gooch, a pioneer for women in public life in Norfolk: Wymondham’s first woman councillor and the first to chair the town’s urban district council
- Children’s games in the Courtyard Garden; hopscotch, marbles, Jacks. Board games including the 40s Beat the Blitz and Snakes and Ladders. Craft station.
- Code breaking for children and adults
- In The Bridewell Tearoom: vintage specials such as traditional cakes and sponges, Norfolk shortbread, sausage rolls. Do you remember spam? Try this wartime staple in the Tearoom
- Raffle, browse a selection of books on the war years
Special exhibition in the nearby Catholic Church and Hall. Vehicles, additional displays of local Wymondham people in the war plus stories of the Far East Prisoners of War. In the event of bad weather, the museum’s outdoor activities will move to the Church Hall.