VE Day 75th Anniversary

Friday 8th May 2020

The Day That Marked The End of the War in Europe

Tuesday 8 May, 1945, was an emotional day that millions of people had been waiting for. Many people were extremely happy that the fighting had stopped and there were big celebrations and street parties.  Huge crowds - with lots of people dressed in red, white and blue - gathered outside Buckingham Palace in London. They cheered as King George VI and his family, including Princess Elizabeth (the current queen) and Princess Margaret, came out onto the balcony to greet everybody.  Princess Elizabeth and her sister were allowed to leave the palace and celebrate with crowds outside, although they had to do it secretly.  The future Queen described it as "one of the most memorable nights of my life".  Many people also attended church services to thank God for the victory. London's St Paul's Cathedral held 10 services, which were attended by thousands of people. 

But VE Day was also a moment of great sadness and reflection, as millions of people had lost their lives or loved ones in the conflict. Recently broadcaster Deutche Welle (DW) wrote: around the world, nations celebrate VE Day as a defeat of Nazi Germany. But in Germany, VE Day is both a day to remember victims of fascism and a moment to celebrate freedom from fascism. 

A Day To Remember 

The scenes of celebration witnessed in London were repeated around the world, even as the war continued against Japan.  In Paris, occupied during the war, there were salvoes of artillery and an address by General Charles de Gaulle. The correspondent for The Times described “beflagged streets filled with cheering people” and said that the partial blackout had finally been lifted. “All public monuments are floodlit, Paris is the City of Light again.”  The bells in Vatican City pealed, while in Brussels a final all-clear of the air raid sirens sounded. In Moscow, reported the Associated Press, “Russians swarmed through Red Square shouting ‘Long Live Stalin’ and ‘Hurrah for Victory’.”

Across the Atlantic, New Yorkers gathered en masse in Times Square, dancing, singing and throwing torn up newspapers as a storm of celebratory confetti. Yet the mayor, Fiorello La Guardia – in a more sombre mood – asked people to return to work, saying: “Remain on the job as a token of respect and support for the men dying at this very moment in the Pacific.” Australians similarly felt the burden of the ongoing war, but still celebrated. The country heard of Germany’s surrender on the evening of 7 May, and, reported one newspaper, “those still in the city night clubs and theatres took up the revelry, cheering and yelling”.

Even neutral countries saw scenes of jubilation, including in Sweden. Stockholm had a “carnival night” as exiled Danes and Norwegians danced on taxis, while in Iraq – the scene of heavy fighting in 1941 – parliament proclaimed five days of holiday to celebrate war’s end.

Key Facts

The harsh reality of WW2

World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total of 70–85 million people perished, which was about 3% of the 1940 world population (est. 2.3 billion). 

Deaths directly caused by the war (including military and civilians killed) are estimated at 50–56 million people, while there were an additional estimated 19 -28 million deaths from war-related disease and famine.  

Civilian deaths totalled 50-55 million. Military deaths from all causes totalled 21–25 million.

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This Parish remembers the 27 men that died in WW2:

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Charles Henry Ackroyd

William Ackroyd

Hugh Baxter

Richard Brown

Jack Charlesworth

Robert Davis

Samuel Dyson

Kenneth George Edwards

John P Haigh

William Harold Johnson

William MacGregor

John Murray

Harry Nicholson

Edward Nixon

George Perry

Norman Ranshaw

Thomas Reading

George Henry Rylands

Alfred Shatford

Ronald Stevens

John James Stubbs

Harold Taylor

George Turton

Michael Walsh

George Whitehouse

Frank D Wolsey

David Worthington