May 8th is forever VE (Victory in Europe) day, celebrating when WW2 ended in Europe 75 years ago (not until 4 months later in the Pacific).
Since I was only just 6 years old when the war ended, I have rather few memories of those times and some may well be scrambled. My esteemed older sister and brother can correct me. Our family was well away from hostilities during the war, living in rural Hertfordshire on the Welsh borders. Dad was the only local doctor so was exempt from active military service. He was also an engineer and built an electric car to be able to visit patients in their homes (often farms). Petroleum was not available, but we did have diesel to power our home generator (no mains supply at that time), so could charge the car. The cars always had pet names and this one was called “Cowgoose”! Why I know not. It was a clunky beast that often shot green flashes from behind the back seat, like the Aurora borealis.
An RAF station “Madley aerodrome” opened up in the next village, so there were sometimes planes in the sky and I remember one pilot ejecting and parachuting into the next field. Dad rehearsed the local farmers in the intricacies of repelling potential attackers, on our tennis lawn, exactly like the marvelous TV show “Dad’s Army”. Our attic was filled with empty bottles in case we had to make “Molotov cocktails”. I do remember a big fete on the aerodrome to celebrate the end of the war. There were running races for the kids and bowling for a pig. It was a large pig and I worried about taking it home, but we didn’t win. One of the horses in the cart horse race got out of control and stepped rather firmly on my sister’s bicycle.
My memories are clearer (enhanced by early photos) of the first years after the war, and especially the great snow of 1947.
A basin of bird food put out on the croquet lawn disappeared under snow in November and reappeared eventually in the spring. Dad sometimes made his house calls on a borrowed tractor and our driveway was cleared by prisoners of war. Really, two years later? Although there was official food rationing, we did not go hungry. Dad grew lots of vegetables and fruit, and his farmer patients often paid him in chickens, eggs and ham. Indeed, there was a period of plenty after the National Health Service started in 1948 when Dad was getting a salary as well as farm produce.
These comments may seem trivial on a day dedicated to remembering the incredible sacrifice of millions of people in many countries in the defense of freedom. Sorry.
I can’t help mentioning that I met Churchill when he visited Cambridge in the late 50s.
Lest we forget.
Great photos. I don’t think I’ve seen them before. We had a socially distanced street party to celebrate VE Day and some great coverage from the BBC which was very moving. A great reminder of how lucky we are today and how much we owe to so many.
Hi Pete,
Glad to read your memories, not all of them similar to mine !
Dad had a ration of petrol, dyed red, to allow him to visit his patients. Cowgoose was for family use – it allowed us to venture out for picnics etc. affording many adventures otherwise unavailable.
Yes, a carthorse did stand on my bike, but not on VE day. I was at boarding school in Oxford on VE day and allowed to go out with a chum to experience the excitement in town at the age of 12 !
VJ day did not happen until August, when we were in holiday in Cornwall. I heard the news while standing in a queue for bread, for which we had to surrender coupons as we were still rationed for many foodstuffs, some not freed up until 1952 ! XX Ann
Thanks Ann, glad I remembered part of it right!
Love your trips down memory lane.
Peter. I really enjoyed this piece and the photos. I arrived in the UK aged 8 in 1952 and remember the stories of the snowfall in 1947, those photos really show how massive it was and the nearest to it was the episode I experienced in 1962, when the ports froze!
VE Day celebrations were muted because of covid-19, but tonight Boris Johnson has announced plans to loosen the lockdown and we no longer talk of ‘Stay at home’, but rather ‘Stay Alert’. We hope we can maintain the unanimity between the 4 Countries in the UK, although there appear to be cracks appearing.
Sorry to add a covid message, but the UK has more deaths than any other country in Europe, so we remain concerned as you must be in the USA. So stay well, stay safe. Bernie
Hello Cousin Peter:
Many kudos to you for telling your childhood memories of VE day, May 8 th 1945. Being merely 5 months shy of aged 8 I too have a vivid recollection of when it happened and some few details of my day. They are in stark contrast to yours as I lived in a remote oilfield camp on the south coast of Trinidad. 14 miles across the Columbus Channel to the South lies Venezuela, South America. ( more to follow).