THE eightieth anniversary of VE Day is to be marked over 4 days in May, including a service of “celebration and remembrance” at Westminster Abbey, the Government announced on Tuesday.
VE Day was the general public holiday that marked the formal end of the Second World War in Europe. Short services of thanksgiving were held every hour within the Abbey from 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. attended by a complete of 25,000 people. A service was also held the next Sunday, 13 May, when the standards of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa were laid on the High Altar to symbolise the loyalty of the entire Empire through the war.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd Dr David Hoyle, said on Wednesday: “A service will happen at Westminster Abbey that can be each an act of shared remembrance and a celebration of a nation stepping from deadly struggle into peace. It is a moment to present thanks, to honour a generation that showed extraordinary courage and resilience and to recommit ourselves to the courage and resilience mandatory to sustain peace.”
The service, which can be by invitation only, is a component of a national programme of celebrations and remembrance, the outline of which was released this week. Beginning on the May Day Bank Holiday, in Whitehall, a military procession is to proceed to Buckingham Palace, followed by a flypast of “current and historic” military aircraft, including the Red Arrows.
The Cenotaph is to be wearing Union flags in the course of the 4 days “to offer a focus” for the commemorations; a “place to pay silent tribute” to those that died through the Second World War.
Street parties are encouraged, supported by the community initiatives Together Coalition, and the Big Lunch, which were also involved within the Jubilee and Coronation celebrations.
An installation of ceramic poppies is to return to the Tower of London, including nearly 30,000 from the unique display in 2014 (News, 7 November 2014), which commemorated the centenary of the First World War. It is to resemble a “wound” at the guts of the Tower to “mark and reflect the sacrifices made”.
On the Tuesday, historic landmarks, including churches and cathedrals, can be floodlit. On the evening of seven May 1945, a newsflash announced that the next day can be Victory in Europe Day. To mark this moment, on the Wednesday, the Parliament Choir are to host a concert in Westminster Hall.
The programme is to conclude with a concert “in a celebratory tone” on Horseguards Parade, attended by greater than 10,000 members of the general public. “The concert will feature stars of stage and screen and military musicians and tell the story of victory and the legacy of the Second World War in Europe.”
To mark the eightieth anniversary of the top of the war within the Far East, a service is to be held on the National Memorial Arboretum on the Friday, in partnership with the Royal British Legion.
Among the opposite initiatives planned is “Letters to Loved Ones”, in partnership with Imperial War Museums, to encourage the general public to seek out letters sent by their relatives through the Second World War. “It is hoped that it will bring together first-hand testimonies from soldiers on the front line, and the ladies and kids on the house front. Letters to Loved Ones will culminate in an event in May, bringing together school children and their families from across the UK.”
