A CHOIR made up of dementia patients, care home staff and Bampton residents performed at a tea dance.

The singers from the town’s Rosebank Care Home performed 1940s and 1950s songs at Cumnor Village Hall on Thursday.

It was the fourth annual event organised by Lynn Carter, 61, in memory of her mum June Ponting. Mrs Ponting was a resident of the home who died in 2010, aged 79.

More than 100 people attended, including residents from eight other care homes as well as 10 servicemen and women from RAF Brize Norton’s Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit.

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A choir from Cumnor Primary School also performed. More than £100 at the event was raised for charities, including the Alzheimer’s Society and Diabetes UK.

Grandmother-of-two Mrs Carter, who grew up near Cumnor and now lives in Abingdon, said: “My mum had Alzheimer’s disease so I do this each year in her memory. I challenged the care home to create a choir for this year’s event. Some people with dementia love to sing and they remember songs from the past so that’s why we do it. It’s a good challenge for them and it’s great having the whole community working together.”

Mrs Carter said she invited the military to the annual event because her late father Keith Ponting served in the Royal Navy.

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