This week marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day – VE Day – on 8 May. It’s a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made during World War II, but also on the resilience and compassion that followed.
At Greensleeves Care, this reflection has a deep resonance. Our very origins are rooted in the post-war response to a nation rebuilding not just its cities and homes, but also its sense of community and care for one another.
After WWII, the UK faced enormous challenges, particularly in housing. Among those hardest hit were older people, many of whom were left displaced or struggling in inadequate accommodation. It was in this climate of need that the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) – a key home front organisation during the war – stepped into a new role. Having already played a vital part in supporting civilian life during wartime, the WVS pivoted toward peace by launching Residential Clubs for Older People.
A new approach to care and community
These clubs, developed in the late 1940s, offered something pioneering: not charity, but dignity. Residents could bring their own furniture, live in vibrant community settings, and remain socially engaged with local life. They paid reasonable fees, maintained independence, and were supported not as recipients of charity, but as valued members of a post-war society rebuilding with empathy at its heart.
This approach laid the foundations for what would become Greensleeves Care. Over time, the WVS evolved into the WRVS, and eventually transitioned out of direct service provision. In 1997, Greensleeves Homes Trust was formed as an independent charity, inheriting the mission to provide compassionate, community-based residential care. What began as a wartime response transformed into a lasting legacy of social good.
Today, Greensleeves Care operates over 1,200 beds in care homes across England, offering award-winning care while staying true to the principles that inspired our formation. We remain proudly not-for-profit, and we continue to honour the values of those early Residential Clubs: dignity, independence, and community connection.
Helping people feel good about care – yesterday and today
As we commemorate VE Day 80, Greensleeves Care homes across the country are proudly taking part in local and national celebrations – joining in activities including the lighting of Beacons and the Lamp Lights of Peace, as part of the official programme of events. These acts of remembrance are designed to honour the generation that shaped the world we now inhabit—not just through their courage during conflict, but through their compassion in peace. Their spirit lives on in organisations like ours, born from their determination to build a better society.
Late last year we unveiled a new promise: to help people feel good about care. In many ways, it’s not new at all. Social good has always been in our DNA – from the war effort to the Residential Clubs, and now to our vibrant, modern homes. As we look ahead, we carry forward that same promise: to provide not just care, but community, purpose, and dignity – for every older person we support.
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