GRAB the ‘Tin Hat’, listen out for the ‘All Clear’ and take a nostalgia trip to the iconic sounds of the wartime big bands.

As Britain marks the 75th anniversary of VE-Day in May, the clock will be firmly turned back to the Forties at a unique ‘Home Front Heroes’ dance which will raise funds for two Pembrokeshire charities.

Saturday May 9 – during the national Victory in Europe Weekend – is the date to remember as the Welsh-based Phil Dando Band takes the stage at Pembroke’s new Henry Tudor School hall.

Sounds and songs made famous by Glenn Miller and other wartime-era bands will raise the roof at the event which is being organised for the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre and the Paul Sartori Hospice at Home. Proceeds will be split between the two charities.

Caterers will brave the ‘blackout’ to provide 1940s Ration Box Fayre and there will be music, dancing and fun between 7.30pm and midnight.

The Phil Dando Band is returning to Pembrokeshire with memories of two hugely successful Forties dances some years ago with ‘full houses’ at the Royal Dockyard Chapel in Pembroke Dock – now the home of the heritage centre.

Then so many of the patrons turned out in period uniforms and wartime-era fashions, and the organisers are sure that this one-off event will bring the Forties back into focus at this very important anniversary moment.

‘Home Front Heroes’ tickets – priced at £25 – have just gone on sale. They are available online from www.paulsartori.org/events; from Paul Sartori House, Haverfordwest (01437 763223) and from Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre (01646 684220).