Ecstatic crowds celebrate VE Day in London’s Piccadilly on May 8, 1945, and similar scenes are expected this year (Image: Getty Images)
King Charles will lead Britain in a four-day festival of celebration and commemoration to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. An unprecedented nationwide jamboree will see the Cenotaph in central London draped in Union Flags, a service of remembrance, military parade, concert and flypast, in addition to tens of thousands of smaller community events.
Victory in Europe (VE Day) on May 8 marks the Allied victory on the Eastern Front in Europe. But the war continued in the Far East until Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender on August 15, which is known as VJ Day (Victory Over Japan). In 1945 millions of war-weary families greeted the joyous news of peace at last after six long years and celebrated with impromptu street parties and spontaneous celebrations.
This year’s momentous milestone kicks off on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5, and will see the Cenotaph, the nation’s focal point of remembrance, dressed in Union Flags for the duration of the commemorations, in a solemn nod to the 1920 unveiling of the monument to the fallen.
Amid the jamboree, it will remain a focal point where silent tribute is paid to those who died, both at home and abroad during the conflict.
A military procession from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace will honour and remember those who perished, followed by patriotic flypast of current and historic military aircraft including the world famous Red Arrows.
The commemorations then move to HMS Belfast, which fired some of the opening shots on D-Day in 1944, which will host a street party.
The warship opened fire on a German artillery battery at Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy, where the British Normandy Memorial to heroes of the invasion now stands, suppressing guns on the cliff tops until the site was overrun by British infantry of 7th Battalion, Green Howards. It remains the most significant surviving Second World War warship.
Finally, street parties, barbecues and get togethers will be held by communities across the country, echoing the celebrations 80 years ago.
The carefully-curated commemorations will pay tribute to the millions across the UK and Commonwealth who served, telling stories of those who fought, children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into essential roles on the Home Front.
Recalling the scene in London on that glorious day in 1945 Ruth Bourne, 98, then a Wren working as a link in the chain of codebreakers who intercepted Nazi messages at Bletchley Park, said: “There was an electric buzz among everyone and eventually the royals came out and waved, and we cheered like crazy waving whatever we had on us. People climbed on every available lamppost, lit bonfires in Hyde Park and we sat around singing songs. Not many went to bed that night.”
Britain is gearing up to commemorate the end of the 1939-45 conflict (Image: Getty Images)
On Tuesday, May 6, as revealed by the Express, the 2014 installation of ceramic poppies will return to the Tower of London. Nearly 30,000 poppies from the original 2014 display to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, will be displayed within the walls of the citadel. It will resemble a wound at the heart of the Tower, which was bombed during the Blitz and still bears some of those scars today.
Later, historic landmarks across the UK will be lit up in red, white and blue.
On Wednesday, May 7, the Parliament Choir will host a Victory in Europe Day Anniversary Concert in Westminster Hall exactly 80 years to the day victory was declared.
And on Thursday, May 8, King Charles and Queen Camilla will lead a service at Westminster Abbey billed as a shared remembrance and celebration of the end of the war.
The jam-packed programme of events ends with a celebratory concert at Horseguards Parade in a nod to how the nation reacted to the news 80 years before, featuring stars of stage and screen and military musicians, and 10,000 members of the public.
Later in the year on August 15, the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, the Royal British Legion [RBL] will lead a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum to those who fought and died during the war in the Far East.
King Charles at the British Normandy Memorial on D-Day, June 6, 2024 (Image: Getty Images)
Speaking of the nationwide festival of celebration and remembrance Market Garden hero Geoff Roberts, 99, captured in the airborne assault on Arnhem in Nazi-occupied Holland in 1944 and held as a prisoner of war, said: “I think it’s very important in these current times we remember those that gave their lives for our freedom and peace in Europe. We should never forget them.”
Marie Scott, 98, was just 17 on D-Day and worked in a top secret underground bunker passing coded messages from military commanders to soldiers landing on the beaches of Normandy. When troops were talking on their radios, she could hear every blood-curdling sound from across the water in Normandy.
She said of the VE commemorations: “It’s an opportunity to thank all those wonderful people who made such a spectacular victory possible because, without them, the future could have been very dire indeed.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “The 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are important opportunities for communities to come together to pay tribute to all those who served in the Second World War and to reflect on the values that they were fighting for.
“By taking part in these significant commemorations, people across society will be able to hear our veterans’ stories first hand, to reflect and remember, and ensure that their stories of sacrifice and service are remembered for generations to come.”
Dr Tara Knights, of the RBL, added: “The Royal British Legion is proud to be marking the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day and will put Second World War veterans at the heart of these commemorations. These are significant anniversaries, and we owe it to all those from that generation to thank them for their bravery and sacrifice in the defence of freedoms we still enjoy to this day.”