A BLAST from the jitterbugging past is making its way to Ipswich today.

A BLAST from the jitterbugging past is making its way to Ipswich today.

The spirit of the 1940s will be taking over at Christchurch Park on September 9 when the popular green space turns back time to host a vintage family sports and fun day.

During the free event there will be egg and spoon races, a sack race, tug-of-wag, a Punch and Judy show, a coconut shy and a shove ha'penny.

There will also be various characters from the decade including a local bobby, a 'Spiv' and other wartime heroes.

Organiser Claire Parker, health and fitness promotion officer with Team Ipswich, said: “It is a really, really nice era and ideal for peer-to-peer learning.

“We will have people along who remember being in that time and so the day will bring back memories and they may even see themselves in some old photos we have on display.

“Then they will be able to talk to young people about the times so the learning will be interactive.

“I wasn't around at the time but I know people had to make their own fun and despite the war that was on at the time the period seems to bring back many happy memories.”

Miss Parker said one of the main aims of the event was to promote a healthy lifestyle with the activities on offer including dancing the jitterbug and boogie woogie to big-band music.

She added that the day, organised by Team Ipswich and Colchester and Ipswich Museum Services, has also been set up to provide education about the Great British heritage and a sense of nostalgia for an era which was characterised by community spirit.

The event runs from midday to 4pm in the park's Upper Arboretum. For more information visit www.heritageopendays.org.

Tell us your memories of Suffolk in the 1940s? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

The 1940s

The 1940s were seen as a transition period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s.

The first half of the decade was dominated by World War II which ended in 1945.

The second half marked the beginning of the East-West conflict and the Cold War.

In 1945 the United Nations was set up and in 1949 NATO was established.

Did you know?

The Jitterbug is a swing dance which emerged in the late 1930s and quickly swept across America.