May 8th marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe in 1945
My husband, born in 1938, remembers it with nostalgia. At age 7 it meant lots of food, fun and knowing his brother and uncle, both in the Coldstream Guards, woud be coming home on leave soon.
In London, Trafalgar Square and The Mall were packed and everyone wildly celebrated...
The royal family saluted the gathered crowds outside Buckingham Palace...
I Warwickshire, as in all areas all over the country, strret parties were organized.
My husband remembers everyone carting out their tables into the street, families sharing food and supplies for making the meal... the best bakers doing so in one house, the vegetables in another, etc... everyone happy, singing and drinking home made wine and beer from the pub at the end of the road...
The above photo from Getty shows the contrast now to then... with a "guy" or dummy for today with a sign "I have to stay at home" due to the coronavirus, and a guy in wartime clothes with an identification label and sign "I had to leave home" because many children were sent away during the war, evacuated for safety.
For my husband who had been too young and ill with asthma,so was kept at home, it meant his 2 older sisters would be coming home soon, who had been sent to Wales. They family lived too close to Coventry, which was severely bombed.
Today though, there were street parties too... but with social distancing...
Residents of Cambrian Road in Chester dressed up in period costume take part in a socially distanced street party
Members of the services honouring the fallen at the Cenotaph including my husband's old regiment, the Coldstream Guards in the red tunic...
And a flyover by The Res Arrows past the statue of Winston Churchill.
On my Facebook page, I am posting more photos, as well as links to the VE Day speech of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and other items of interest you may be interested in...
