Washington residents come together for annual 1940s weekend celebrating the past and the community

The Washington community was able to come together and throw it back to the 1940s with residents embracing the decade in a weekend-long reenactment, featuring vintage traders, Second World War vehicles and a Churchill challenge family fun quiz.

The Springwell Village 1940s weekend began four years ago in 2017 and has now become a much anticipated yearly event in the Washington community calendar.

The weekend saw residents embrace the throwback with classic costumes, fun activities and even an England vs Germany football match complete with classic kits.

The annual event proved a great success after a difficult year, according to Community Development Manager at Springwell Village Community Venue, Suzanne Shaftoe.

She said: “It was important to everyone to keep the momentum of the 1940s Weekend event going after the difficult year we all faced. This year was very different because of Covid restrictions, but all in all it was a success with some excellent feedback.

“All weekend we had people saying how lovely it was to see the event take place. We had some lovely comments on both the Facebook pages and Instagram. Volunteers worked so hard but it was worth it to see the smiles on peoples (seated) faces and chat to members of the community. Every person we spoke to was simply happy to attend a family community event and to see that there is hope for some normality in the near future.

Organisers were forced to cancel the event last year due to coronavirus restrictions, meaning this was the first time the 1940s weekend had been held since June 2019, and the first event Springwell Village Community Venue were able to hold since February 2020.

Other activities over the weekend included Second World War reenactments, a victory tea party, dog show, farmers market, bingo and live music.

Suzanne added: “To see the community together was so uplifting, spirits were high and the weekend was enjoyed by people of all ages which was lovely to see.”

Next year, organisers are hoping the 1940s weekend will be bigger and better than ever and hopefully without restrictions in place.

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