THE 80th anniversary of VE Day is to be marked over four days in May, including a service of “celebration and remembrance” at Westminster Abbey, the Government announced on Tuesday.
VE Day was the public holiday that marked the formal end of the Second World War in Europe. Short services of thanksgiving were held every hour in the Abbey from 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. attended by a total of 25,000 people. A service was also held the following 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 whole Empire during the war.
The Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd Dr David Hoyle, said on Wednesday: “A service will take place at Westminster Abbey that will be both an act of shared remembrance and a celebration of a nation stepping from deadly struggle into peace. It is a moment to give thanks, to honour a generation that showed extraordinary courage and resilience and to recommit ourselves to the courage and resilience necessary to sustain peace.”
The service, which will be by invitation only, is part 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 dressed in Union flags for the duration of the four days “to provide a focal point” for the commemorations; a “place to pay silent tribute” to those who died during the Second World War.
Street parties are encouraged, supported by the community initiatives Together Coalition, and the Big Lunch, which were also involved in the Jubilee and Coronation celebrations.
An installation of ceramic poppies is to return to the Tower of London, including nearly 30,000 from the original display in 2014 (News, 7 November 2014), which commemorated the centenary of the First World War. It is to resemble a “wound” at the heart of the Tower to “mark and reflect the sacrifices made”.
On the Tuesday, historic landmarks, including churches and cathedrals, will be floodlit. On the evening of 7 May 1945, a newsflash announced that the following day would 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 more than 10,000 members of the 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 80th anniversary of the end of the war in the Far East, a service is to be held at the National Memorial Arboretum on the Friday, in partnership with the Royal British Legion.
Among the other initiatives planned is “Letters to Loved Ones”, in partnership with Imperial War Museums, to encourage the public to find letters sent by their relatives during the Second World War. “It is hoped that this will bring together first-hand testimonies from soldiers on the front line, and the women and children on the home front. Letters to Loved Ones will culminate in an event in May, bringing together school children and their families from across the UK.”
