Plea for volunteers to keep Heywood 1940s day going

The free annual event, funded by Rochdale Borough Council’s Heywood Township Committee needs around 10 new faces to support an existing group of volunteers from Heywood Business Group who organise the day, to ensure it can go ahead.

Usually staged on a Saturday in June, the colourful celebration of all things 1940s offers a superb day out for all the family, including live music and entertainment, a street party, food and drink, armed forces parade, children’s fairground rides, military vehicles and much more.

In 2025, the day included military and vintage vehicles, a full-size replica Hurricane and Spitfire, various displays and historical re-enactments as well as 1940s themed train trips. Many visitors dress up in traditional 1940s fashion and the event continues into the evening in the town’s pubs and bars, bringing a huge boost to the local economy.

Allison Bamford, chair of Heywood Business Group, said it’s a fantastic and fun event to be involved with:

“Heywood 1940s Day has been a popular fixture on the calendar for over 15 years, bringing thousands of people into the town, but as visitor numbers have increased, so have the demands on our very small team, so with people moving on and a couple of our older members needing to step back from some of their responsibilities, we urgently need people to come forward to ensure the event can continue.

It’s already been a challenge in recent years but we’re at the point now where we can’t carry on. We’re putting a call out to the community to ask for support, not just on the day itself, but to help us organise it too. Unfortunately, there is now a real risk that if we don’t get sufficient help, the event won’t be able to go ahead.”

Volunteer roles available will cover a wide range of jobs, across all areas of the event including, setting up and dismantling stalls and attractions, looking after visitors, stewarding, health and safety, event planning and management and marketing.

Councillor Angela Brown, chair of Heywood Township added:

“The township are committed to funding the event and Rochdale Development Agency have kindly offered the organisers significant support through Heywood Town’s Board in terms of event management and administration, however it’s vital that the event also has sufficient volunteers on the ground to organise and deliver the day, ideally people from the local community.

We know other organisations are struggling to find volunteers too, it’s not easy, however this really is a fantastic event to be part of and it brings such a lot to Heywood, so if you think you could help, please get in touch.”

Experience in customer service, retail or communications would be useful, although not essential, and anyone aged 18 or over is welcome to get in touch.

If you can help, email [email protected] by Wednesday, 25 February 2026.