Friday 15th August

Friday, 15 August 2025 06:00

Services and acts of remembrance are taking place across Yeovil & South Somerset for VJ Day. An Ilminster café has unveiled a new defibrillator in the town. A room, named in honour of a member of Somerset Council’s Public Health team, has been opened at Yeovil Library...and more.

Services and acts of remembrance are taking place across Yeovil & South Somerset for VJ Day, as the county marks the 80^th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945, which effectively brought the Second World War to an end. The commemoration events include a gathering at the War Memorial in Yeovil town centre organised by the Royal British Legion, the laying of a wreath at the Burma Star garden in Ilminster, followed by a tree planting, music and speeches in the town’s recreation grounds, and a service at Crewkerne Methodist Church.

An Ilminster café has unveiled a new defibrillator in the town, following a successful fundraising appeal that raised well over a thousand pounds for its purchase. The Monks Yard venue says the life-saving device is installed and fully operational in the café’s reception area and will be available whenever they are open. The defibrillator is also registered on www.defibfinder.uk, an online resource showing devices across the country.

Shepton Mallet Prison’s popular ‘Living History Days’ are returning this August bank holiday, with visitors of all ages getting the chance to explore four centuries of history since the now decommissioned prison was opened. The event will feature characters in costume, activities including ‘oakum picking’ and the history of the US military’s use of the prison during the Second World War.

A room, named in honour of a member of Somerset Council’s Public Health team, has been opened at Yeovil Library. The Finnis Room is dedicated to Louise Finnis, who is credited with providing the inspiration and funding for the Wellbeing zones in both the Taunton and Yeovil libraries, and establishing the first collection of wellbeing books in libraries across the county. She sadly died just days after she retired.

And a Yeovil woman is being recognised as a positive role model at this year’s National Diversity Awards. Katie Krzyzanowski has been shortlisted due to the “dedication and difference she has made within the disability community”. Using her Instagram and TikTok accounts, Katie celebrates difference, confronts ‘ableism’ and aims to show others they’re not alone. The winners will be announced in September at a ceremony in Liverpool.

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Friday 13th March

The first of the new medium lift helicopters being built by Leonardo in Yeovil for the RAF will be delivered in 2031. Somerset Council has launched a public consultation on planned new charges at its two hundred public car parks. More women in Somerset are said to be taking up walking football... and more
Thursday 12th March

A Yeovil headteacher says he’s concerned about plans to stop giving school holiday food vouchers to families on low incomes. The owner of Yeovil Town is calling on fans to be patient as he continues his overhaul of the National League side. A high voltage fault is being blamed for plunging 1700 homes into darkness in the Ilminster area... and more
Wednesday 11th March

Plans have been submitted to convert two properties in Yeovil into houses of multiple occupation. A new court date has been announced for a Yeovil man charged with attempted murder. An engineer who has worked at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil for 40-years has won a top industry award... and more
Tuesday 10th March

Police say a fire at the former Oscar Mayer food factory in Chard was started deliberately. Yeovil College says it would have been adversely affected had Leonardo not won the contract to build new medium-lift helicopters. A seven-foot dragon will be visiting towns and villages in our area during the next few weeks to promote Somerset Day... and more
Monday 9th March

Two Wildcat helicopters from 815 Squadron at RNAS Yeovilton have arrived in Cyprus to help protect RAF Akrotiri from further Iranian drone strikes. New figures show that 40 people were killed on Avon and Somerset’s roads in the last 12-months. A Somerset man has been recalling the day 60-years ago when he was a passenger on the last train on the Somerset and Dorset Railway... and more
Friday 6th March

Defence Minister Luke Pollard has been explaining why it took the government so long to confirm a contract for the Leonardo in Yeovil to build new medium lift helicopters for the RAF. Police are investigating a break in at a pet shop in Ilminster. Somerset Council is to stop using red ink on council tax reminder letters... and more
Thursday 5th March

Two military helicopters from RNAS Yeovilton are being sent to Cyprus to help bolster UK’s defences amid the US-Israel war with Iran. Yeovil Town Council is seeking legal advice over the closure of the hyper acute stroke unit at Yeovil Hospital. Flood warnings have been lifted on the Somerset Levels... and more
Wednesday 4th March

A man has died in a fire in Wincanton. Somerset Council is planning further cuts of twenty-one million pounds to help balance its books. A campaign to raise £30,000 for a minibus has been launched in Chard... and more