The 8 May 1945 is a date ingrained in the memories and generations of people, a day of many emotions including relief, sadness and joy. Across the country, people rejoiced and celebrated the news that Germany had finally surrendered, marking the end to the Second World War. However, it must be noted it wasn’t the complete end to the conflict as the War against Japan didn’t finish until August 1945.
Throughout the war people were invested in keeping up to date with the latest news from the front and it was no surprise that people were aware in the run up to 8 May that the war was nearly over. People in Britain were on standby to start celebrating the end of the war. An announcement was broadcast over the radio on 7 May to share the news that the war had ended in Europe. It was also announced that the Victory in Europe Day would be a national holiday, to take place the following day.
In the Gloucester Citizen it was reported on Saturday 28 April 1945 that VE Day is Near.
The time for rejoicing over final victory in Europe is near at hand. Pray that they succeed, that the unity of the battlefield will be carried into a lasting peace.
The festivities of VE Day included street parties, dancing and singing with colourful bunting and flags lining the streets of villages, towns and cities across Britain. According to records collected by the Imperial War Museum, the Board of Trade announced that people could purchase red, white and blue bunting without using ration coupons. There were even commemorative items hastily produced in time for the celebrations, including ‘VE Day’ mugs.
At 3pm on VE Day, Churchill made a national radio broadcast. In it, he announced the welcome news that the war had ended in Europe – but he included a note of caution, saying: ‘We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.’ He knew that the war was not over as Japan still had to be defeated.
King George VI, like Churchill, also gave a radio address. In it, he praised his subjects’ endurance and called for a lasting peace. He also paid tribute to those who could not join in the celebrations, saying: ‘Let us remember those who will not come back…let us remember the men in all the services, and the women in all the services, 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.’
In the Midlothian Advertiser the news about VE Day Celebrations were reported on Friday 11 May 1945.
There was a feeling of relief on Monday night when the radio announced that Germany had surrendered and the war in Europe was over. The news had been expected for some time and this doubtless led to it being rather quietly received.
In the afternoon most people listened to the short broadcast by the Prime Minister to whom the nation will be for ever indebted for his great leadership during what must ever be one of the most testing periods in our national history. In the evening Thanksgiving Services were held in the local churches and were largely attended. Later in the evening the broadcast by His Majesty the King was followed with close interest.
In the town of Gainsborough the Gainsborough News reported on the events happening nationally and locally sharing key updates on the progress of the War and the local men who were fighting at the front. In 1945, the News reported on the VE Day event, which included a thanksgiving service that took place in the Market Place.
In Proud Thanksgiving, Coun. S. W. Harrison, JP Chairman of Gainsborough Urban Council, opening the proceedings at the memorable united thanksgiving service which drew a vast crowd to the Market Place two hours after Mr Churchill’s broadcast. In the background will be seen the supports which had to be placed in position to save Gainsborough Town Hall from collapse on April 29, 1942, when enemy bombs dropped in the town centre.
Many people across the country rejoiced and celebrated however, there were also people who didn’t celebrate VE Day but who instead stopped to remember their loved ones lost in conflict or were concerned about those still serving overseas. We also must not forget how the hardship of war impacted communities from the strain of air raids to the effect of rationing. Six years of war left its mark on many and this didn’t finish on 8 May 1945 as food rationing remained in place until 1954 with clothes rationing lasting until 1949.
Ahead of VE Day, the government issued orders to business owners and families on how they should prepare for any VE Day celebrations. In the Liverpool Echo on Tuesday 1 May 1945 an article was printed stating Advice To Food Trade – “Plan Ahead”. This was important information at a time when rationing was heavily ingrained in the lives of everyone supporting the war effort.
The Ministry of Food gave the following advice today in regard to food trade arrangements for VE Day and VE plus one day.
Traders asked to make their arrangements in advance, to let their staff know, and let their customers know by posters in the shops and windows. Grocers should remain open on VE Day for at least one hour, and, if possible, for two hours after the announcement has been made.
VE Day was still a difficult time for many people however, this lovely story of a Beckingham Mother’s “Shock of Joy” shows how as the War ended people across the country were able to reunite.
A Beckingham Gainsborough mother had a “shock of joy” on Saturday when she received a telegram telling her that her 19 year old son, Sgt Norman Levick, posted missing on February 8th this year, after his plane had been shot down, was safe in England.
On Friday, 11 May 1945 the Thanksgiving event held in Gainsborough was reported in the Gainsborough News titled Gainsborough Says Thanks for Peace.
Thanksgiving and rejoicing were the keynotes of Gainsborough’s celebrations of the end of the war. Never – not even at the Armistice of the European War – have such scenes been witnessed in Gainsborough as those which marked the closing stages of the great struggle which ended officially at midnight on Wednesday, May 9th 1945.
Here we see parts of the great crowd which attended the united thanksgiving service in Gainsborough Market Place at 5pm on Wednesday, two hours after Mr Churchill had broadcast to the nation that the war in Europe was at an end.
Here is a striking view, caught by a “News photographer, Mr Frank Musk, of the floodlit tower of Gainsborough’s All Saints Parish Church. It acted on the three nights it was illuminated as a beacon, welcoming the people there to worship in quiet thankfulness of the end of the war. On the eve of VE day, on the Day itself and on the public holiday which followed thousands of people filed into the church to give witness to Almighty God for the great deliverance.
In the next section, there are a further three articles from the Gainsborough News sharing stories of the involvement of the local factories and the fundraising achieved on VE Day by local people.
Gainsborough Salutes The Allied Nations
A tribute to the achievements of the Allied Nations was paid by the famous local firm of Messrs. Rose Bros, who flew the flags of the allied nations from special flag staffs on the roof of the main offices in Ropery Road.
The firm is to be congratulated on this outward display of the appreciation which the people of Gainsborough feel to all the nations which have united with us in the defeat of the Germans for the second time in just over a quarter of a century.
Gainsborough was gaily decorated for the peace celebrations. A “News reporter, elsewhere, describes some of the street scenes on the two great days of celebration.
VE Day Review
Members of Britannia Works band made a tour of the town, visiting certain hostelries, where they played a selection from a somewhat varied repertoire. The response was terrific.
A large crowd assembled in the Market Place in the evening to hear the amplified broadcast of the King’s Speech.
Bonfires were lit in various parts of the town, round which children and grown-ups danced merrily until the small hours of the morning. Accompaniment, in some cases, was provided by gramophone or by such musical instrument as was readily at hand.
VE Dance Produces £94
The sum of £94 net was raised at the VE day dance at Gainsborough Drill Hall arranged in aid of the Y.M.C.A. and the “News John Coupland Hospital Children’s Ward fund, both of which benefit by half the proceeds.
The signing of the United Nations Charter took place in June 1945 by 50 countries pledging to maintain international peace and security with VE Day marking the beginning of the political, economic and physical reconstruction of Europe.
The Gainsborough Heritage Centre has marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day with special displays including our street scene decorated in the spirit of VE day with bunting and flags. You can learn more about the story of Warrant Officer Ted Beswick who joined the RAF during the War and understand the impact the War had on the town, the role of the Prime Minister and the King on the very day that shaped history.
There is still time to view our VE Day displays, the Centre is open every Saturday and Tuesday from 10am until 4pm, costs £3 for non members and is free entry for members and children. Support the Heritage Centre with an annual membership of £15 and view our displays and exhibitions as often as you like!
References
Gainsborough News Articles from the Gainsborough Heritage Centre Newspaper Archive and Research Library.
VE Day photos from the Gainsborough Heritage Centre’s Photo Archive.
British Newspapers Online for articles from the Midlothian Advertiser, Liverpool Echo, Gloucester Citizen.
Imperial War Museum Research, links below:
www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-ve-day
