Caerphilly care home resident shares VE Day memories
Eunice David, a resident of HC-One Wales's Parklands Care Home in Bedwas, was born on May 16, 1924.
She was 15 at the start of the Second World War and 21 at the end.
Eunice served as a WREN when she was 19 (Image: HC-One Wales)
Mrs David, originally from Ely in Cardiff before moving to lee-on-the-Solent with her family, joined the Royal Navy and became a WREN at the age of 19.
She served her country for two and a half years, including living and working through the Dunkirk evacuation.
She met her future husband, John, in Lee-On-The-Solent while he was in the RAF.
They married in Cardiff in 1944 whilst he was on leave from Normandy and were together for 59 years.
On VE Day, Mrs David, her husband, and her family celebrated by having a street party in Cardiff with their neighbours.
She met husband John whilst working as a WREN and they married in 1944 when he had two weeks leave from the RAF from Normandy (Image: HC-One Wales)
Ms David said: "I remember the bells ringing and people cheering, but it was the silence afterwards that stayed with me – the kind of silence that comes with relief and remembrance.
"We were just girls doing our duty, but on VE Day, we felt like we'd helped change the world."
After her service as a WREN, Ms David and her husband travelled around the world together, most notably to Hong Kong.
Eunice now lives in Bedwas and is 100 (Image: HC-One Wales)
They had two sons, Neil and Phillip, two granddaughters, Cerys and Stacey, and three great grandchildren.
Mrs David moved into Parklands Care Home in June 2022.
She is looking forward to celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day by joining in the street party being hosted at the care home.
HC-One Wales is a family of 14 care homes across Wales.
The mission is to support those in care to lead their best life, with kindness as a key cornerstone of their operation.
HC-One Wales offers residential, dementia, or nursing care, guided by a heartfelt desire to support those in its care to live better each moment of every day.
It works closely with health and social care professionals and has developed a range of innovative and specialist care services, to support people to make the most of each moment, every day.
For more information on HC-One homes, visit the HC-One website.
The care home is looking forward to celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, 2025.
It will be hosting a street party for their residents to commemorate the occasion.
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