And we mustn't forget:

Members of the We’ll Eat Well Again Steering Committee, Year 9 history students from Lutterworth High School, Year 13 history students from Lutterworth college, Austin Ruddy - Leics Home Guard Remembrance Society, Ringrose Butchers, Danny and Mitchell Ball Carpets, Students from Lutterworth College Enterprise Centre.

and the following individuals:

Szabolcs Varga, Istvan Turak, Joyce Greenhalgh, Beryl Shaler, Alan Green, Caroline Averill, Jackie Nobbs, Sidney Nobbs, Margaret Bartlett, Jean Soden, Eunice Mays, Margaret Towers, Kate Palmer, Chris Faulkner, Sylvia Taylor, Cynthia Dalby, Rosie Glover, Melvyn Hammond, Jon Hobbs, Margaret Adams, Betty Bingham, Kris Bullard, Pam Monk, Alwynne Jarrom, Phylis Smith, Ray Smith, Eileen Collis, Margaret Rourke, Jean Kinton, Wendy Warren, Audrey Good, Pat Fox, Elaine Bailey, Laura Jeffrey, Mr and Mrs Herbert Price, Peter Osborne, Peter Hammond, Lynne Wood, Beth Kirslake, Ian Sutherland, Michael Palmer, John Cookson, & William Beaumont

Photograph Used with the kind permission of Jon Mullis, Lutterworth Observer, (C) 2008

In wartime, it was everyone to the pumps. There was no space or time for slackers. The men (and many women) went to the Army, Navy and Air Force and their places had to be taken in the factories by the women and older men where it was often no less dangerous there than it was at the front fighting the enemy.

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

In Wartime, the most ordinary of people do the most extraordinary of things. Acts of bravery and self sacrifice become almost commonplace, but are no less brave for all that. Many suffered terrible injuries - physical and mental - which affected the rest of their lives, and many did not survive to enjoy the benefits that their sacrifices had brought about.

Medals were one way of recognising the efforts and achievements of those who took part in the war - particularly those who were in the armed forces.

Often though, no such recognition was forthcoming and only now are the efforts of those who were on the home front being recognised, e.g. the Bevin Boys (conscripted coal miners), the Land Army girls, Merchant Navy seamen, etc.

Here, Rev. Ernest Brown proudly displays his medals.

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

By the end of the first year of the Second World War, agriculture in England and Wales had lost almost 50,000 men to the armed forces and other essential occupations.

During the First World War the government established the Women's Land Army. The severe shortage of labour persuaded the government to reform the organization and by 1944 there were 80,000 women volunteers working on the land. The majority already lived in the countryside but around a third came from Britain's industrial cities.

Women in the Land Army wore green jerseys, brown breeches and brown felt slouch hats. They did a variety of jobs and a quarter were involved in milking and general farmwork. Others cut down trees, worked in sawmills and over a thousand women were employed as rat-catchers.

Margaret Towers - shown here - must surely have been the smallest of them all well under five feet tall. Now a sprightly 80 years old, Margaret is still a regular volunteer at Lutterworth Volunteer Centre.

The government introduced National Registration Identity Cards under the National Registration Act 1939. Initially, adult identity cards were brown, the same colour as children's cards, but in 1943 a blue card was introduced for adults.

All civilians, including children, had to carry an identity card at all times to show who they were and where they lived. The identity card gave the owner's name and address and unique National Registration number. The local registration office stamped the card to make it valid.

Identification was necessary in case families became separated in the event of bombing or if the children were evacuated to another part of the country. People also had to produce their identity card along with their ration book when they were claiming their share of food or clothes.

The British wartime identity card scheme was abolished in 1952.

There might not always have been the wherewithal to eat terribly well in wartime - and rationing persisted into the early 1950s - but people certainly knew how to celebrate when it was all over.

Lutterworth, like most towns in Britain, erupted into a period of all kinds of celebration including concerts, dancing, family reunions. Celebrating took many forms. With the soldiers just home from war, these were the baby boomer years! And the flags came out everywhere for street parties for the children and adults alike.

Jane Beaumont and Dee Stephens dress up in 1940s style outfits to fit in with their roles as guides and facilitators for the week's events. They certainly look authentic enough, but lose the cigarettes and the hairstyles please ladies. There are some things best left in the 1940s!

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

Clearly, one of the delights of wartime Britain after a hard day's work was to have a refreshing cup of tea - without sugar of course - whilst soaking your feet in a nice hot tub WITH YOUR SOCKS ON!???

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

The Government of the day had the habit of advising people on how to produce meals (mostly highly unpalatable) which they probably would never dream of eating themselves, from almost nothing. Murchison Pie was one such. Oddly, Murchison Pie seems to taste a whole load better in 2008 than it did in 1943. The original pie - with not a scrap of meat in sight - was made from whatever leftover vegetables were around the house by the end of the week and covered in a thin pastry.

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

Andrew Carpenter (standing right), local photographer for the Lutterworth Mail, finds himself caught on camera for a change and the centre of attention as he discusses and samples the homemade wartime fare with local Land Army 'girls' and Lutterworth School Children. Whilst for one minute we wouldn't suggest it was Andrew's fault, there weren't many biscuits left by the time he did!

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

Could modern 'man' survive for a whole week these days on so little to eat and still manage a physically challenging job. In wartime Britain, there wasn't a choice. And, yes, you can still get sterilised milk in those odd shaped bottles with metal tops at Lutterworth Co-op! And it still tastes b****** aweful.

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

Put a man in uniform and the girls flock to his side. Wartime Britain saw many hurried romances and marriages before the men went off to war, often for several years. Surprisingly, even after five or six years without seeing each other, the ardour did not diminish and Lutterworth boasts many octogenarians who are still with their wartime partners - not that we would suggest these girls have been around Lutterworth for the last eighty years!

Phew - I think I got out of that!

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

The sanger (wall made of sandbags) is a bit on the low side, but fortunately, the Germans weren't coming that day. In any case, mortar bombs made from plastic ballcocks wouldn't have kept them at bay for long. All the same, this was a good demonstration of how deeply involved the British public had to become in the war. Not only did the Home Guard have to undertake full-time jobs to earn a living, but their training and defence duties often took up their evenings and weekends too. During World War 2 over 2,500 Home Guards were killed on duty - sadly, mostly by each other in training accidents.

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)

General Patton reportedly once said that he'd sooner have a division of Germans in front of him than a company of Home Guard behind.

Just joking fellas!

(We'll Eat Well Again event, One Stop Shop, 2008)