VE-Day 75

[Welchester]

1 hour ago, chris p bacon said:

I've posted before that Dad was a PoW (A Captive of the Kriegsmarine) and he didn't have a good time of it, but I did ask him shortly before he died if he ever saw a positive for his years in the camp....his reply was "Yes....I never had to listen to Vera B****y Lynn".....

 

 

That, I believe, was also said by those who served in the Far Eastern campaign.

[AY Mod]

8 minutes ago, DaveF said:

In the morning she went to the school as normal and taught the usual maths lessons, at lunchtime they were told to go home.  She joined the crowds celebrating in the town for the rest of the day and much of the night. 

 

At the time she was looking forward to her boyfriend coming home, he was in the navy.  It was a few days later when she heard his ship had been sunk earlier and he was lost.

 

For me that just sums up the breadth of humanity we've raised a (few) glass(es) to today here. Commemorating under the cloud of a different adversity has brought a different perspective to the day, probably for the better.

[Steamport Southport]

1 hour ago, chris p bacon said:

I've posted before that Dad was a PoW (A Captive of the Kriegsmarine) and he didn't have a good time of it, but I did ask him shortly before he died if he ever saw a positive for his years in the camp....his reply was "Yes....I never had to listen to Vera B****y Lynn".....

 

He was a miserable old b*gger sometimes...I now know it's genetic.

 

I've got the bunting out just to annoy him 

 

Not 'the bl***y awful Warsaw Concerto' then.  

 

 

Even considering the circumstances I thought the TV coverage was terrible.

 

 

 

Jason

[APOLLO]

VE day Wigan - Fireworks - lots of them (any occasion brings 'em out !!) - sounded like the RAF bombing Dresden !!!!!!! (still a few going off).

 

Queen gave a short but emotional speech, we do owe so much to those who served in WW2

 

In our street we were sat outside earlier socially distancing (as Wiganer's do !!) having a drink and a chat  - as we all did at 8pm last night. 

 

The Hun 75 years ago and the Virus today will not defeat us Brits !!

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

[Hroth]

Spent the afternoon socially distancing at the street party then came home for tea.  Couple of good programmes on BBC 4 from 7pm, Classic Cellists at the BBC (Paul Tortelier, Jacqueline du Pre, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo Yo Ma, Steven Isserlis etc) and Tunes for Tyrants, exploring the use, abuse and manipulation of music in WWII.

 

Also dipped into the BBC1 coverage and promptly dipped out again.  Instead I watched the Queen on the BBC news site.  Far more civilised.

 

Completely agree with the Dame Vera sentiment, far too overplayed!

I won't mention the Warsaw Concerto (nothing to do with Polish music and not a concerto.  Oops...)

D'you think I got away with it?

 

[Free At Last]

9 hours ago, Hroth said:

As with Captain Tom, my father was in the Burma campaign and though he was mainly an RAF backroom chap (who volunteered to fly as aircrew for the aerial resupply of the Imphal/Kohima garrisons in 1944) always said that the army had to fight the Japanese all the way down Burma and were dreading having to go onto Japan itself.

 

He passed away last year, I have his war medals, the 39-45 and Burma Stars, the Defence Medal and the War Medal (Just the ordinary stuff) on my desk at present.

 

My dad was in Burma with the 5th Indian Division, I have his medals, photo album and a few bits of his from the war.

[The Stationmaster]

Socially distanced street party ready for singing of 'We'll Meet Again'

 

[APOLLO]

Not many war stories from our family - Granddad served in WW1, got gassed and shot but survived (takes more than that to kill an Incer !!). My dad was medically unfit for the services, but after volunteering he was assigned to the United States Air force at Burtonwood (actually working at Haydock Park race course) unboxing machinery, plant & vehicles brought from the USA - and had many "interesting" tales to tell about that !! - One was his American workmates were yearning apple pie - but sugar was on ration over here - What's rations said they - well the rest of the war mum was baking apple pies with copious amounts of American sugar !!.

 

Quite frankly we would have lost without the Yanks - so a big thank you also to those Americans (and indeed many other nations as well) who also served.

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

[rockershovel]

10 hours ago, Free At Last said:

My dad was in Burma with the 5th Indian Division, I have his medals, photo album and a few bits of his from the war.

 

Africa Star with 8th Army bar, plus Burma Star is an unusual combination, does it derive from his Indian Division service ?(Campaign stars issued for service in British units are blank on the reverse, but Indian, South African and Australian one’s bear the name and details of the recipient). 

 

My late father had the Africa Star and 8th Army clasp, Italy Star and also the France and Germany star, although (as he would occasionally remark) he never set foot in either country - being a “D Day Dodger” and subsequently spending several months in hospital after being wounded in Italy, he missed the Normandy campaign entirely and was back in hospital again on VE Day. 

 

He was a pre-War regular, having signed up in 1938 (the army’s “greatest recruiting sergeant” having been active at the time) and was due to serve until 1950. He had dreaded being sent to Burma, although his medical condition by 1945 made this highly unlikely - he was “mustered out” as unfit for further service, ahead of time, in 1946 but remained “on the strength” (ie, still nominally on service and hence, qualifying for pay and medical attention) until 1948 when he was demobilised and his medical records transferred to the newly-established NHS. 

 

I have no recollection of either of my parents regarding VE Day as any sort of commemoration. 

 

[Hroth]

My father never bothered about VE day, though he was often thoughtful around VJ day. 

 

He never really spoke of the war even when asked specific questions.   Although he was a RAF radio technician, he must have seen something nearer the hot end, one thing I remember was asking for one of those "toy" grenades that made a bang when a cap was put in it.  His response was that I wouldn't want one if I had seen someone blown up by one.  He never wore his medals, they're still wrapped up in the little brown box that they were sent out in.

 

My paternal grandfather was a ships engineer in WW1, luckily in the Far East which was slightly less dangerous than the Atlantic run.  I recently came across his Merchant Marine war service medals.  I've also got sets of WW1 medals for Great Uncles on both sides of the family who never made it to peacetime.

[Re6/6]

I was watching the VE day commemorations and thinking a lot about my Dad. His war was in India and Burma. He was at the battle of Kohima, an awful bloody affair. I shall be celebrating VJ day on the the 15th of August. That commemoration always seems to be forgotten. The grim conditions in the steaming jungles of Burma defy description. He wouldn't talk much about that part of it but what he would talk about was the fun that he had with a Willys Jeep with railway wheels fitted to run on an Indian railway line . He and his subaltern, who also liked railways, would drive the thing up and down the piece of railway near Chittagong which is now in Bangladesh. There was a photograph in the family of him sitting in it it somewhere so it would be good to see if it still exists.

 

This was a version of one recorded in France. (Wiki)

[rockershovel]

One of my uncles was a Redcap (military police) in Rangoon, but missed the fighting entirely, having been on leave in India when it started; he served his whole enlistment, from 1936 or 1937 to about 1952 or 1953, without seeing any action at all, something of an achievement under the circumstances. After Indian independence he returned to the U.K., ending his service in Colchester. 

 

His view of the whole “Forgotten Army” business was that it was extremely difficult to put any sort of positive face on any of it. It had been well understood long before, that the British military position in the Far East was quite untenable without the support of the Japanese, who had been nominal allies in WW1. Singapore was the greatest military defeat in British history, and retaining Singapore without the associated hinterland would have been useless anyway. It had been obvious at the time that there could be no return, regardless of the outcome, not least because the USA did not support it - once the Japanese had been defeated, the British Empire in Asia simply melted away. The British government treated veterans shamefully, whilst compensating Lever Brothers and similar companies abundantly.  

[Rowsley17D]

Being right on the edge of the village (last house or first depending) so we were on our own.

 

[AY Mod]

It's rare that I envy someone else's day at work... 

 

 

[Welchester]

I wasn't going to post this yesterday, not wanting to detract from the observance, but 25 years ago, on the 50th anniversary I was a hospital chaplain. Many celebrations and commemoratons were taking place in arious wards and departments, but on Labour Ward I was told very firmly. 'Here every day is VE Day.' (VE = vaginal examination).

[Bernard Lamb]

4 hours ago, Hroth said:

My father never bothered about VE day, though he was often thoughtful around VJ day. 

 

 

I touched on a reason why early on in this thread. Thank you to all those people who have joined in in a sympathetic manner. I heard today from the father of a friend who must be about 98. His comment was that not many people in Herts and Beds had any reason to celebrate. Particularly so where he lived in Cupid Green. I suppose parts of Suffolk and Leicestershire and some areas of Scotland probably feel the same. The forgotten army is still largely forgotten. Take a look in your local library when it re-opens and see how few books there are on the Far East compared to other theatres of war. When a very well know TV presenter talks about "the end of the war" I do tend to get rather upset.

Bernard 

[AY Mod]

How to suck the intended life out of a well-intentioned topic that did not ignore or marginalise anyone outside its scope.