Medway will join the nation in marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day, with special events including a parade, street parties, community poetry collaboration, and spectacular night-sky light display.
The special programme of VE Day 80th Anniversary events will run from the Bank Holiday Monday on 5 May to Victory in Europe Day on Thursday 8 May, and through the following weekend.
Medway is renowned for its proud military history and strong relationship with the Armed Forces, stretching back 400 years. From the foundation of the Historic Dockyard Chatham, Medway’s military significance grew over time with the construction of sites like Fort Amherst, Slough Fort and Fort Luton; then even further as it became an important industrial site with the expansion of the dockyard and the arrival of military aviation and defence pioneers like the Shorts Brothers aircraft manufacturers.
Medway remains an important military site to this day as the home of the Royal School of Military Engineering and Royal Engineers Museum, and that ongoing connection is seen every year as the community comes out in force to celebrate Armed Forces Day. It’s in evidence once again this year, with the community's key organisations including veterans groups coming together to promote the 'One Medway Approach' for the VE Day 80th Anniversary celebrations.
The day will commence with flag raising ceremonies at locations across Medway, with Medway Council proudly flying the VE Day flag at its Gun Wharf Headquarters, a large Union Jack at Rochester Castle, and a special ceremony at the Royal Engineers Museum.
While the museum’s flag raising ceremony is not open to the public, it will host a community celebration, with the public welcome to enjoy free museum access from 2pm to 5pm, along with afterschool family activities, music and more; and the following day it will open its new Wartime Bailey Bridge installation.
In the afternoon of VE Day, a parade will be held on Rochester High Street, starting at 5pm at Almond Place, from where members of the Royal Engineers, 3 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, Medway Veterans groups and Cadets will march to the war memorial and Rochester Cathedral for a special service. A wreath will be laid after the service, then bells rung at the Cathedral – and around the country – before the parade marches back down the High Street. Visitors are warmly welcome to line Rochester High Street and attend the service – although early arrival is encouraged to guarantee a seat. The Cathedral will also light their spire in red, white and blue to commemorate this historic anniversary.
Lamp Lights of Peace
Later in the evening of VE Day, beacons and ‘Lamp Lights of Peace’ will be lit around the country. In Medway, large searchlights will light up the sky from all five Medway towns and the Hoo Peninsula, converging in the sky in homage to the resilience of our local communities and across the nation during the Blitz of the Second World War. Searchlights were crucial to the war effort, and Medway hopes that the lights will pay tribute to the World War II generation, in tribute to the sacrifices that secured our freedom and democracy, while spreading a message of unity, hope and resilience.
Traditional beacons will also be lit at Kingshill in Hoo, which will host celebrations including the City of Rochester Pipe Band and a Parade of Veterans from 7.45pm; as well as at Fort Luton and Slough Fort, where celebrations will include 1940s music from the Peninsula Big Band, a bugler’s Last Post, and a musket salute.
Medway residents also have the chance to get involved by collaborating on a community poem, with the help of Medway Libraries – which will be first performed on VE Day, 8 May, at the Royal Engineers Museum’s flag-raising event. The subject of the poem is peace, and residents can submit a maximum of 250 words describing what peace means to them, Medway or the wider world.
Submissions can be thoughts, memories, hopes, poems, phrases, or micro-fiction, which will then be edited by a professional poet to be included in a larger collaborative and ‘anonymous’ poem, attributed to Medway. Anyone who lives, works, or studies in Medway can submit entries online at www.medway.gov.uk/libraries , or in person at your local library, by Sunday 27 April. Submitted poems will also be displayed in our local libraries until VJ Day, 15 August 2025, and Medway’s Peace Commemorative poem will be put into Medway Archives for posterity.
The council is also inviting residents to submit any family memories or photographs of VE Day that can be shared with the local community submitting them to Communications@medway.gov.uk
VE Day will also be marked at the Guildhall Museum, which will have a historical interpreter telling visitors about life during the war in Rochester on Saturday 10 May, and on various dates until Friday 15 August. Visitors will be able to see ordinary household items from the war years, and hear some tales of real local families.
From Monday, 28 April to Monday, 5 May, Fort Amherst will host WW2-themed tours and activities, with highlights including themed tours, an exhibition of "Then and Now" images, and WW2-themed catering and music. Local school children will also contribute celebratory bunting designs, and on Monday, 5 May, Fort Amherst will be hosting a VE Day Knees Up, celebrating like it's 1945! Events are ticketed. Find out more here.
Other events include the Poppies Project, run by Nucleus Arts and the Historic Dockyard, Chatham which will is due to be launched on VE Day and involves the creation of 11,000 community knitted poppies.
A total of 13 street parties will be taking place across Medway, with Medway Council having waived road closure fees, following an application process, to allow people to come together.
Celebrations will reflect resilience and message of peace
Cllr Nina Gurung, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and Leisure, said: “Medway will proudly commemorate the landmark 80th Anniversary of VE Day with an uplifting and awe-inspiring programme of events which will also showcase our rich history, heritage and community spirit. Our teams have worked exceptionally hard alongside key organisations in Medway to deliver some of the most remarkable VE Day 80th Anniversary celebrations in the country, which will make us all very proud. We would like to encourage everyone in Medway to join in, reflect, celebrate and create great memories together.
“We have a long and proud historic connection to the Armed Forces, which is always reflected in our Remembrance events and yearly Armed Forces Day celebration. This momentous anniversary is even bigger as it connects the nation and indeed the rest of the world, reflecting our resilience and strength along with a unifying message of peace. The Council and key community organisations have enthusiastically teamed up to help organise the celebratory events, highlighting our ‘One Medway approach’; and we thank them all. By weaving together Medway’s proud naval, military, industrial contributions, wartime sacrifices and historical and cultural legacy, we join the nation in honouring the WWII veterans and civilians alike, while also reinforcing our identity as a community shaped by resilience, sacrifice and collective triumph - a fitting tribute to VE Day’s legacy that also promotes community unity and intergenerational connection.”
Street parties will take place at the following locations:
|
Location |
Date |
|
Weston Rd, Strood |
05/05/2025 |
|
Park Crescent & Letchworth Ave , Chatham |
05/05/2025 |
|
Broadview Ave, Rainham |
10/05/2025 |
|
Chalk Pitt Hill , Chatham |
11/05/2025 |
|
Southfields, Rochester |
05/05/2025 |
|
Southfields, Rochester |
11/05/2025 |
|
High St, Lower Stoke |
10/05/2025 |
|
Charter St , Gillingham |
10/05/2025 |
|
Beechwood Ave & Darland , Chatham |
05/05/2025 |
|
Aintree Rd, Lordswood |
10/05/2025 |
|
Catterick Rd , Chatham |
10/05/2025 |
|
Purbeck Rd, Chatham |
10/05/2025 |
|
Oak Ave, Gillingham |
10/05/2025 |