Middleton Cheney begins a day marking the 80th anniversary of VE day
08/05/2025
The first event was held outside Henry’s Café in honour of a local hero
On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the day the second world war finished in Europe, people in Middleton Cheney gathered early this morning for the first of a number of events lined up to mark the occasion.
Tyler Jeffs, the Chairman of the village’s Royal British Legion branch, bore the Standard as Richard Jasper, the Pipe Major of Laidlaw Memorial Banbury and District Pipe Band, played the bagpipes outside Henry’s Café.
Middleton Cheney Royal British Legion branch President, Peter Cook, then read the 80th anniversary VE Day proclamation.
Henry’s Café was specifically chosen for the event. Mr Cook told Banbury FM: “The cafe is named after Henry McGill, who’s [café owner] Sarah’s grandfather. He was a D-Day hero. He went ashore on Gold Beach shortly after D-Day and won the highest French Order of Merit, the Legion of Honour.
“It’s the right place we felt to honour him and to start the day’s celebrations.”
Middelton Cheney will be joining in with a Beacon Lighting ceremony later. The event starts at 8.30pm on the Village Green and the programme includes a fairground organ, the Laidlaw Memorial Banbury and District Pipe Band and the lighting of the village’s beacon at 9.30pm.
Ahead of that Henry’s Café are serving a commemorative fish and chip lunch for a very special reason.
Mr Cook said: “Fish and chips was never rationed during the war. Lots of foodstuffs were rationed, but fish and chips never was. This is a bit of a nod to the fishermen and the farmers who kept the country fed throughout those difficult war years.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
