Published: Thursday, 8th May 2025
A King’s Lynn woman enjoyed a right Royal treat on VE Day, when she joined the King and Queen at a special VE Day concert in London.
Roberta Tarasoviene, who works to support refugees and others in need of help, was nominated to attend the event by the Hanseatic Union, on behalf of the Borough Council.
She said: “I am really proud to have been nominated to attend the concert. I have talked about it with my children, who have learned about World War Two at school, and they were so surprised that I am going!
“When I came here in 2005, I didn’t know anything. Now I am able to support others who are in that situation.
“Conflict has brought many people to this country and I hope to represent them today.
“I was really pleased to see how the Ukrainian soldiers were honoured in the big parade on Monday. I think it is very difficult for people to understand what it is like in Ukraine, and how people there are suffering. They are bombed so often that it has started to become part of normal life and that is terrible.
“I hope that one day the war will finish and things will improve for people in Ukraine.”
Roberta came to King’s Lynn from Lithuania in 2005. Although not a refugee, she had experienced life under Soviet rule and the tensions that arose when Lithuania broke away from the USSR in the early 1990s.
She became involved in the Hanseatic Union, a charity that supports migrants and refugees to establish themselves. Initially as a volunteer, she eventually became an employee and is now the manager at the charity’s Welcome Centre, which operates out the Borough Council’s main offices in King’s Lynn.
She spends a lot of time supporting Ukrainians who have fled the invasion of their country.
The Hanseatic Union’s Project Lead, Julie Chaplin, who put Roberta forward, focused on the importance of having representation from the refugee and migrant community at the concert.
“We work with people of at least 28 different nationalities – including British people – we support them to overcome barriers, reduce social isolation and help them to thrive.
“Many of them are escaping from situations that most of us would be unable to imagine. This happened in World Wars One and Two, and it is happening now. I nominated Roberta because she always puts in 100% effort, and her knowledge, commitment and empathy have helped countless people in their hour of need.
“She is a person who demonstrates that there is more that makes us similar than divides us. She has been a role model for how people can achieve harmony by working together.”
Accompanying Roberta and representing the council was Community, Health and Wellbeing Manager, Judith Berry, who commissions the service provided by Hanseatic Union. She said:
“The work of the Welcome Centre shows the best of West Norfolk and, I think, the link to World War Two, when this area and many others opened their homes and hearts to refugees, including evacuee children from London and people from across Europe escaping persecution.
“So I am very proud and excited to be going to this event with Roberta, and we hope to do West Norfolk proud!”
Alistair Beales, Leader of the Borough Council, added: “West Norfolk’s open approach to people dates back to medieval times and its trading links with European cities. In recent times we have extended the hand of friendship to those in need as they flee persecution.
“Our Welcome Centre is an example of the best of people in West Norfolk. From helping local people who are suffering from social isolation to supporting people escaping war in their home countries, its mission is to give people hope and the skills to make a life for themselves in our community.
“This links back to what we, and the country as a whole, did in World War Two when we pulled together, gave people hope and succeeded as a collective.
“It feels right that this is how we chose to represent West Norfolk at this prestigious event.”
Details of the concert can be found here: BBC presents VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember live from Horse Guards Parade