On Friday we commemorate the 75th anniversary of V.E. Day. This marked the end of nearly 6 years of war and suffering, costing millions of lives and the destruction of homes, cities and families. The nationwide events planned for this year are taking place, but in a rather different way. If you are planning to observe V.E. Day in any way, please share your photos and/or experiences of the day. Whether you are decorating your house with bunting, having a picnic in your front garden, singing along to “We’ll Meet Again” or simply observing the silence at 11am, it would be nice to record how Westwood Heath remembers this special anniversary.
Meanwhile, today in “Memory Monday”, we are delving once again into the newspaper archives to discover how Coventrians celebrated the very first V.E. Day back in 1945.
Preparations for V.E. Day
Late in the day on 7th May, 1945, a radio broadcast announced that the document of surrender had been signed by the Germans in Berlin. Shortly afterwards, the BBC interrupted scheduled programming with a newsflash; a national holiday – Victory in Europe Day - would take place the following day, 8th May. The news had been widely anticipated; years of wartime dangers and fears, coupled with restrictions on the purchase of clothes and food meant that many people were too eager to wait until the next day, so they began their celebrations as soon as the announcement had been made. This is how the Coventry Evening Telegraph described preparations on the eve of the big day:
Coventry Ready for V.E.Day The news of the big surrender in Europe gave considerable impetus in Coventry over the weekend to the demand for flags and bunting. The restricted stocks have been practically sold out and this morning many people were abroad in quest of decorations for V.E.Day. There has been a long-standing demand for the decoration of business premises by firms that undertake this work and to-day there was evidence that business houses will make their contribution to the the general decorations in the city. Householders, too, will be making displays and it is likely that some of the streets will be adorned in a manner similar to the decorations that were seen on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and the coronation of our present king.
Coventry was not alone in its wish to decorate the city; bunting and flags could be seen in cities, towns and villages across the country. As the evening progressed, bonfires were lit, there was dancing in the streets and revellers packed into the pubs until late, licensing hours having been extended.
The Big Day Arrives
On V.E. Day itself, many events marked the occasion, including church services, parades and street parties. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, addressed the nation at 3pm in a radio broadcast and later made an impromptu speech from the balcony of the Ministry of Health building in central London. The Royal Family made no fewer than 8 appearances on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. After darkness fell, the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret joined the crowds thronging in front of the Palace, where they went completely unnoticed.
On 10th May, the Coventry Evening Telegraph carried the following report of events in the city:
How Coventry Celebrated V.E.Day People in their thousands danced and sang in the streets, they smiled and laughed, they hushed into a silence impressive because of their great numbers to hear the formal announcement of the German unconditional surrender made by the Prime minister and relayed through loudspeakers set up in various parts of the city. …Bands providing lively music in keeping with the happy spirit of the occasion for dancing were provided under Corporation arrangements at convenient points in the city… In Broadgate a great crowd assembled but for a time nobody seemed willing to set the ball rolling. A Constable of Coventry City Police on duty there took the situation in hand. Very soon his persuasive powers and unofficial services as MC had the people dancing happily. …Complete strangers linked arms and in lines spread across streets, marched nowhere in particular, singing an odd melody of popular songs. And so it went on all over the city. …Parents and neighbours did not forget what a lean time the younger generation had had throughout the grim years of the war in Europe. In street upon street, children’s parties were organised. The amount of food collected for these events was staggering. …Although the glow of bonfires in all parts of the city, some crowned with effigies of Hitler, lit up the night sky on V.E. Day and the rattle of fireworks was heard continually during hours of darkness, Coventry NFS [National Fire Service] was called out to only one fire, and that was a ten-minute affair involving a packing case and some sacks in Barracks Square. Likewise there were no serious accidents – only a few cases needing first aid treatment in which the patients were able to return home without going to hospital.
A Poignant Occasion
Not everyone was in a mood for partying, however; it was also a time, as King George VI said, to remember those “…who have laid down their lives. We have come to the end of our tribulation and they are not with us at the moment of our rejoicing.” Acts of remembrance took place in churches and cathedrals around the country, including at Coventry Cathedral, which had lain in ruins for nearly 5 years. The newspaper report on 10th May described the commemorations there: They made their pilgrimage in a never-ending stream to Coventry Cathedral – symbol in its ruins of the sufferings they had endured, and of their reason to be glad that war…had ended…. The lighting around the sanctuary, with the rest of the Cathedral remaining in darkness, had an extremely impressive effect and heightened the significance of the occasion. The Cathedral was so busy that it remained open all night: Many people who had lost relatives in the war brought bunches of flowers and placed them in the vases provided in the sanctuary. This brought beauty to the tumbled masonry of the Cathedral. Many names were also put into the bowl that stands on the altar in close proximity to the cross of nails and the charred cross that stands in the sanctuary.
So V.E. Day was a moment of great national celebration as well as one of sadness and reflection. There was also the prospect of concluding the war in Japan, which finally ended a few months later in August, 1945. This was echoed by the remarks of the Chief Constable of Coventry, Captain S.A. Hector, on 10th May: It was a very fine show and a very fine spirit was shown. The citizens showed they are themselves their own best policemen. Now we have got to get down to work again and realise that another war is still on.
There is a wonderful gallery of images of Coventry on V.E.Day here:- https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/history/ve-day-look-how-coventry-11296452
Sources:
British Newspaper Archive accessed at www.findmypast.co.uk Website of the Imperial War Museum www.iwm.org.uk
Images: Women and children at V.E. Day street party in Stanhope Street, London, NW1 © IWM HU 92607
A truck of revellers passing through the Strand, London, 8 May, 1945 © HU 41808
British Girls of the Picture Division of the London Office of War Information dance in the street with American soldiers during the V.E. Day celebrations in London, May 8, 1945. This scene took place outside the building of the U.S. Army Pictorial Division. © Catalogue number EA 65796
