1940s Wartime themed afternoon gets care home residents reminiscing

Care home residents from Redworth House, Sheldon spent the afternoon singing along to their favourite war time songs as part of a reminiscence show.

As well as being entertained by the wartime themed show ‘We’ll meet again’ residents were able to look at original artefacts and memorabilia from the 1940’s, leading residents to recall memories of their past and share stories together.

Redworth House, part of the Bondcare group arranged the afternoon for their 57 older residents, who have dementia.

Joan McNeil, manager at Redworth House, said: “It was fantastic to see our residents really enjoying the show and singing along to the songs. It was a great way for our residents to reminisce and everyone at Redworth House would like to thank The Vintage Scene for the great performance.”

Reminiscence therapy has been championed as one way to delay the effects of memory loss caused by dementia by stimulating the cognitive ability of older people.

By engaging residents to recall memories of their personal life stories, reminiscence therapy can provide a talking point where residents can share stories with each other as well as their carers about something personal to them.

The show was performed by The Vintage Scene group and included a range of popular war time songs such as ‘Don’t sit under the apple tree’ and ‘There’ll always be an England’ which residents enjoyed singing along to.

Redworth House provide a range of activities throughout the year designed for residents to enjoy and benefit from.

The nursing and residential care home also has a third unit on-site accommodating six residents with learning disabilities.