Victory in Europe – 75Th Anniversary
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Victory in Europe – 75th Anniversary As you may be aware Friday 8th May 2020 has been set aside as a public holiday to remember the Victory in Europe at the end of World War II. With having to stay home and keep safe because of the Coronavirus there won’t be any community events taking place in schools, village halls or public spaces like the Library. So here is a short article to relive the Victory celebrations and to recall a few war time memories to show how the men, women and children at home lived through the war here in the North East and further afield. If you have any stories why not tell us via [email protected] or if you know someone who remembers these times then why not get in touch with them by telephone or social media and ask them to tell you their memories and stories so these are not lost. Victory Celebrations 1945 Now it is 75 years since the end of World War II which is a few generations ago. Depending on your age that might have been when you, your parents, grandparents or even your great grandparents were around and lived through the war years. On the eve of VE Day the Prime Minister Winston Churchill interrupted radio programmes to announce that Germany had been overcome and it was a time to give thanks. You can hear his short broadcast from Downing Street which lasts 48 seconds via the BBC archive https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/may/ve-day- broadcasts (Ctrl + click to follow link or right click and open the hyperlink. Once you have viewed it just click onto the backward arrow symbol “” at the top left of the screen to return to the article). The war in the Far East still continued but Victory in Europe (VE) was celebrated on 8th May 1945 as this date was seen as the end of the war in Europe because the war theatres were quiet and the Germans had surrendered to Allied Forces. On the balcony of Buckingham Palace Winston Churchill with crowds at Whitehall Source: Imperial War Museum Ref: MH 21835 Source: Imperial War Museum Ref: H 41849 On 8th May 1945 thousands of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace calling for the King to come out onto the balcony. In all, the Royal Family made eight balcony appearances during the day. There were also crowds In Whitehall to see Winston Churchill and his cabinet colleagues. Winston Churchill gave a speech which included these monumental words: “This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Everyone has tried. Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the independent resolve of the British nation.” Again you can actually see the film footage taken from outside Buckingham Palace and Whitehall, as well as late into the night in central London where crowds celebrated out in the streets and in their homes. The film clip lasts just under 10 minutes and can be found on YouTube via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rePb2NadxQw (Ctrl + click to follow link or right click and open the hyperlink. Once you have viewed it just click onto the backward arrow symbol “” at the top left of the screen to return to the article). “Throughout the north of England the end of the war is declared by the local mayor and special church services are held. Spontaneous dancing breaks out in many town streets and flags are flying almost everywhere, notably from the winding gear of local pits. A fanfare of trumpets hails the end of the war in Sunderland and the Mayor of Jarrow raises the flags of all the Allies on the Town Hall. A warship in Sunderland harbour accidentally fires shells into the town during the celebrations, but fortunately nobody is hurt. Many street parties are held on 9th May, the day after VE Day”. (Source: England’s North East website). Victory Parades 1946 One year after VE Day there were planned parades across the country. The main one was of course in London in front of the King George and Queen Elizabeth, along with diplomats and other royal dignitaries from all around the world. The parade was led by Field Marshal Montgomery also affectionately known as “Monty” pictured below: “Monty” in his military uniform London Parade 1946 Source: Courtesy of Wikipedia Source: Courtesy of the Naval History website The parade had groups from all the armed forces and ancillary forces from all corners of the world as well as the machinery that helped to win the war. The streets were lined with thousands of people as you can see for yourself if you watch the 8 minute film coverage from the British Movietone collection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEavcsrMoMw (Ctrl + click to follow link or right click and open the hyperlink. Once you have viewed it just click onto the backward arrow symbol “” at the top left of the screen to return to the article). As well as the parade in the capital there were victory parades in other major cities including Newcastle. There were men and women from the armed forces along with civilian representatives and floats including police bands, nursing units, boy brigades, land army, and industries. There were floats for NEI Reyrolle paying tribute to the women who worked in heavy industry during the war. Also coal trucks with the banners saying “Jobs for All. Coal and Success” and “A Worthy Peace Means Coal. Coal Spells Victory”. An amateur film of the Newcastle parade captures the crowds and the sense of pride in everyone’s efforts made during the war. The 12 minute film can be viewed via the Yorkshire Film Archive website along with more detail of the parade itself using this link http://www.yorkshirefilmarchive.com/film/victory-parade-newcastle-upon-tyne-8-june-1946 (Ctrl + click to follow link or right click and open the hyperlink. Once you have viewed it just click onto the backward arrow symbol “” at the top left of the screen to return to the article). Victory Parties 1946 and onwards As well as the big formal parades there were also street “parties held in every part of the country. Many in the North East took place in the back lanes between streets. Tables, chairs and white table cloths came out of everyone’s home. Decorations were quickly made or old pre-war bunting from perhaps the King’s Coronation of 1937 was put up in the streets and Union Jacks were prominent. Food was still rationed but families shared what they had to provide a celebratory tea”. (Source: Summerhill Books - Wartime Memories by Andrew Clark). A VE Party in Morpeth. Thick-cut slices of bread and home-made cakes are on the tables. Source: Courtesy of Summerhill Books Victory Parades continued years after to commemorate and celebrate the victory, two photographs from South Tyneside Libraries local history archive show children dressing up for parades in Hebburn in the 1940’s and 1950’s: Source: Images courtesy of South Tyneside Council’s Local History and Heritage Letter from King George 1946 The Victory in Europe was also commemorated in writing, King George wrote a letter to all school children to express thanks for sharing in the hardships and dangers of the war and that everyone should be proud. The letter which was sent out on 8th June 1946 carried the royal crest and his personal signature. On the reverse side it had a list of key dates in the Second World War, a copy of the letter is below: Source: Images courtesy of South Shields Museum & Art Gallery V for Victory Source: BBC Archive V for Victory was originally used by the BBC during the Second World War as a rallying symbol for the resistance against the enemy. From an article on the BBC World Service History webpage it is said that: “In a BBC broadcast on January 14th 1941, a broadcaster encouraged his compatriots to show their defiance to the Germans by painting Vs wherever they could. The campaign spread to other BBC European services that broadcast to occupied areas and got its own “sound” as well. The letter V in Morse code is three dots and a dash – the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony”. If you want to hear the letter V in Morse code (…_) played on a timpani which is a type of drum, click onto https://youtu.be/ZZi_6FUbo-Q (Ctrl + click on follow link or right click and open the hyperlink. Once you have viewed it just click onto the backward arrow symbol “” at the top left of the screen to return to the article). The two-fingered V for Victory gesture was then famously and enthusically adopted by Winston Churchill as you can see in the picture below: Source: Courtesy of Wikipedia Winston Churchill called the V sign “the symbol of the unconquerable will of the people of the occupied territories.” War Times 1939 – 1945 Food Rationing For the people living in Britain daily sacrifices had to be made, food and other items were in extreme shortage because of the war. A system of rationing was introduced by the government for food, clothing and other things such as petrol. Households were issued with ration books like the one below: Source: Image courtesy of South Shields Museum & Art Gallery Source: Image courtesy of South Shields Museum & Art Gallery This particular ration book was issued on 7th July 1941 to Robert Piper who lived in South Shields.