A lottery boost of £185,917 has flowed across Devon to help 29 community groups pay their tribute to the VE Day veterans and the memories of those who took part.

The Big Lottery Fund has started the Home Front Recall scheme that is dedicated to providing grants to help commemorate the events in the Second World War, VE Day in particular this year.

The biggest award in Devon has gone to Honiton Town Council, which has picked up £20,000 for a weekend long event over the 7th and 8th of May for the benefit of people from Honiton.

The show will include band music, classic military and civil vehicles displays and a concert with a laser light show and picnic in the park.

Veterans and a student take in the world war vintage medical equipment

"This event is being put together as a tribute for the way our wartime generation had to come to terms with the war and how it affected everyone's lives," said Chris Tratt, the project organiser in Honiton.

"By providing activities and displays we hope to entice people to attend this event, as well as encourage local veterans to share their experiences of the war."

A combination of the Stoke Damerel Church and Devonport High School for Boys is planning to spend their £2,900 on one of the most unique events, bringing an old building back to its wartime roots.

"The Devonport High School building was built in the 1790s as an army hospital for Plymouth," said Peter Bowser, an organiser with Stoke Damerel conservation society and retired brigadier.

A student looking apprehensive as a Devonport High School Staff member comes to term with a vintage bedpan

"A creek came through the area with the naval hospital on one side and on the other the army hospital,

"It remained an army hospital untill after World War One then in 1939 opened again to be an army hospital for World War Two."

The plan now is to make it a hospital again for one day only, something the organisers have done successfully before.

"Last year we got together and set up a World War Two army ward," said Peter.

"We got the beds and the uniforms, and a senior nursing officer who had been out in Iraq dressed students up with wounds and injuries."

Doing it last year certainly hasn't dented their enthusiasm for a second showing, the school has even linked it into their history curriculum.

Devonport High school invited current service personnel and veterans

The plan is now to make it even bigger and better than last time.

"Having done it once we've got ideas how to improve it this time," said Peter.

"We've had veterans to talk about their experiences, we had a wartime nurse who'd been in South Africa right through to Italy.

"I could tell the students enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I can't say we'll want to recreate a hospital each year but we'll certainly make a regular thing to work with school on this type of project."

With two "parties in the park", various reunions and commemorations in the pipeline this is looking to be the widest range of celebrations to mark the day the shooting stopped in Europe.