Colleagues at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester, an institution founded to ‘win the peace through education’, walked a mile together to commemorate VE Day.
The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Mile is a popular circular walking route for staff and students around the ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s St John’s ¹û¶³´«Ã½, and on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, staff met to hear a short speech from the Vice Chancellor before walking and reflecting on the past, while looking to the future.
Professor David Green CBE DL, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester, said: “The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a time to pay tribute to the magnificent wartime generation who defeated tyranny and to re-dedicate ourselves to the cause of freedom.”
Professor Green continued: “VE Day led directly to the creation of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester as one of the 55 emergency post-war teacher training colleges with their mission to ‘Win the Peace through Education’. Uniquely, Worcester has evolved from this tiny nucleus to become the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of today, with our schools of medicine, nursing, midwifery, law, business and much more besides, as well as one of the very best teacher training institutes in Britain.”
He continued: “We honour our founders – almost all of whom were ex-servicemen and women, and pledge to do our best to build the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ and contribute to the country.”
He added: “This year also marks 20 years since Worcester gained full university status.”
As part of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s Anniversaries campaign, staff and friends at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ are raising funds for student scholarships and hardship funds through a variety of activities and challenges.
Central to these activities, Professor Green will spend 2 weeks walking the 280km between Porto and Santiago de Compostela.
The mile-long walk around the campus by staff on VE day served as a symbolic first step on his journey.
He said: “I have a long road ahead of me, and I have been training hard for this challenge for 10 weeks. To have been surrounded by colleagues for the commemorative VE Day was a true inspiration. Their spirit will guide me on the long road ahead.”
Professor Green has already raised over £31,000 of his £100,000 target with donations from £2 and upwards. All donations by UK taxpayers are eligible for gift aid. If you’d like to contribute and make a difference, you can do so by following this link to the ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s Just Giving page.
For information on courses at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester visit or for application enquiries, telephone 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk