'It's a great way to honour her' - Chatham Historic Dockyard event goes ahead in tribute to Queen

An event in Chatham which pays tribute to wartime Britain has been dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen.

Salute to the '40s, held at Chatham Historic Dockyard, has gone ahead today, after the organisers felt it was the right thing to do in the circumstances.

Richard Morsley, the Chief Executive of Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust, told ITV Meridian there had been lots of conversations held in the run up to the weekend event as to whether it should go ahead.

After contacting the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and reading the national mourning advice, the team decided to push ahead with the weekend-long event.

Salute to the '40s encourages attendees to reminisce about the 'glamorous days' held in the decade and reminds people of what happened during and after the war.

The Queen, when she was still a Princess, was heavily involved in the war effort, and the event was tweaked to reflect this.

The dockyard has a 400 year connection to the navy which Richard said is one of the 'most patriotic' branches of the military.

"The Royal Navy really is one of the most patriotic branches of the armed forces.

"And really reflected within that is the spirit and duty of service, and I think nothing really represents that better than her late Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II."

• Richard Morsley tells ITV Meridian about the connection the Queen has to Chatham.

Many of those in attendance spoke fondly of the Queen and the role she had in the country.

"She was our rock" one couple told ITV Meridian.

"The country was built on [her]. She has always been there for us and she has been perfect."

Others reflected on the role the Queen played in the war and the efforts she went to during the difficult period.

"She did a lot of things in the war and it was about that spirit of make do and mend and keeping the spirits up."

"The Queen, throughout her life it was her motto all the way through... and I think you find that at these events and it is a great way to honour her."

Attendees told ITV Meridian what impact the Queen had on the country.

What guidance is there for events?

Official Government guidance on the period of mourning published on Friday morning gives organisers the go-ahead to stage events as planned this weekend, but advised against putting on anything that would clash with Her Majesty’s funeral.

The national mourning guidance, published on Friday, highlights that firms are not expected to halt operations.

It says: “There is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the national mourning period.

“Depending on the nature and location of their business and the tone of planned events, some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral, however this is at the discretion of individual businesses.”