This May, the Taxi Charity would have been taking WWII veterans to 75th anniversary commemorations of the Dutch Liberation in the Netherlands and VE Day celebrations in London. Sadly, these events had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 restrictions, so we arranged for a special gift commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day to be delivered to over 120 WWII veterans. On VE Day, Ian Parsons, Taxi Charity chairman, and his wife Anne, delivered a commemorative VE Day 75 tin to WWII veteran, Harry Rawlins, in Edgware.
Harry was in the 8th Armoured Brigade, 30 Corps and was part of Operation Market Garden in September 1944.
Every year Harry joins the trips organised by the Taxi Charity to the Netherlands for the Arnhem commemoration services. Ian Parsons said: "Ensuring our veterans know that the Taxi Charity is thinking about them during this unprecedented time is so important to everyone at the charity. We know how disappointed the WWII veterans were that the events to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day here and across Europe had been cancelled so we were keen to provide them with a commemorative gift. It was really special to be able to deliver this gift to Harry on VE Day and thank him for all he did for this country." WWII veteran Harry Rawlins, said: "The Taxi Charity are truly a lifeline. For many years I have joined the charity on trips to the continent to pay my respects to the comrades who didn’t come home. It was lovely to see Ian and his wife Anne on VE Day and to receive such a thoughtful gift." #IanParsons #AnneParsons #HarryRawlins