Victory in Europe Day or VE Day was on 8 May 1945, signalling the end of the war in Europe. In August of that year Japan surrendered, following the dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki bringing an abrupt end to WW II.  The Fellowship held a Victory Rally the weekend of 1st and 2nd September.  Starting in the grounds of Lambeth Palace (Residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury), for a Garden Party, followed by a trip to the West End to see Arsenic and Old Lace at the Strand Theatre.

On Sunday morning a sightseeing tour on a motor-bus which ended at Westminster Abbey for the Thanksgiving service. Followed by lunch at St George's Restaurant In Southampton Row and time for fellowship until tea.

Now Peacetime had arrived, Patricia Carey and Frederic Morena continued with the vision they had back in 1938 and the Fellowship was established as the main organisation speaking for polio-disabled people in Britain with plans for the future.  Expansion of membership right across the country, and a holiday home for members.

The Fellowship needed more funds. The annual subscription of Two Shillings and Sixpence (12.5 pence) would not bring in large amounts needed for property purchases.  However in November 1945 the Fellowship announced the acquisition of a holiday home in the resort of Clacton in Essex on the south east coast.  It was an arrangement with John Grooms Crippilage which no longer required the residential home used by the military during the war.  The plans to open it as a holiday home for members were abandoned in 1946 but the vision for a Fellowship holiday home was never lost, athough it would take some time for the dream to come true.

Building a national organisation

The first branch of the Fellowship was inaugurated at Reading, Berkshire on 22 April 1946 when, on that Easter Monday, Frederic Morena met up in Connie Dawes' home with four others, including John Tricker who was born in 1924 and contracted polio in 1938, resulting in early total paralysis. He was hospitalised until 1941 and regained the partial use of his arms and upper body. In October of that year he began work as a junior with an engineering company. John trained as an accountant whilst working and rose to become the company accountant of an associated business.

John was a life-long active Christian who had joined the Fellowship during the war; he married Mary in 1956 and they had two children. He served the Fellowship in many capacities at branch, regional and national level, becoming National Vice-Chairman and National Treasurer.

In 1981 John developed severe respiratory problems and was admitted to the Phipps Unit. As a result he became Secretary to the 'Breathtaking Appeal' that helped the Unit to develop and relocate to St Thomas's Hospital under its new name of the Lane-Fox Unit. Reading was quickly followed by the start-up of the Portland (Mansfield) Branch in Nottinghamshire. Many polio people had been treated at the Harlow Wood Hospital and Portland Training Centre just outside Mansfield, and this seemed an ideal place in which to start a branch.

With the assistance of Tom and Eva Rowley, Peter Lawton, Margaret McMann and many others, the new branch prospered and took great pride in performing its own pantomime, Dick Whittington, for its first Christmas; by mid-1947 the branch had 120 members.

The branches grow

The movement to form branches began to change from a trickle to a full flow as 1946 moved into 1947. Rita Sargeant hired the hall of Holly Lodge School for the first meeting of the Merseyside branch. In Exeter,Vera Jenkins was beavering away at organising the inaugural meeting which took place on 14 March, whilst Dudley Kitching was doing much the same in Leatherhead as was Joan Yates in Sheffield.

All this branch-forming activity received much support from headquarters (still Frederic and Mimi's home) and, as well as sending out information about how to get a branch moving, Frederic Morena would often go to the meeting himself, accompanied wherever possible by the National Chairman, Roby Spence.

Keeping in touch

In 1947 the Fellowship's newsletter, the IPF Bulletin, changed from being two sheets of cyclostyled foolscap to a professionally-printed four page production. This was due to the efforts of Dudley Chapman, severely disabled by polio, who had set up a printing business in Harrow, West London.

Having contracted polio at the age of 16, Dudley realised that his hopes of a scientific career had been dashed. Once he was able to move around a little he persuaded his father to obtain a small printing press for his use. This was placed in the greenhouse and became known as "Dudley's Hobby". A few months later Dudley informed his father that he wished to expand. Dad was nonplussed but agreed, and moved the press to the garage. Even that was not big enough and Dad was persuaded to lend Dudley £70 to set up in a proper commercial way.

In the first seven years the £70 grew to a £2,000 annual turnover in a business having its own premises and a number of staff. The initial investment was repaid to Dad, along with interest. After the war Dudley worked in conjunction with the Fellowship to establish and increase the Christmas card business which became the mainstay of the Fellowship's income. He was able to acquire purpose-built premises at The Runway (The road where the present-day Central Office is located) and saw many millions of cards being sold every year. Not bad for "Dudley's Hobby".