Oldest vet among VE Day guests of honour

BRITAIN'S oldest surviving Second World War veteran and a husband and wife believed to be one of Britain's oldest living couples were among dozens who joined a tea party making 80 years since VE Day.

- 

Some 46 veterans who served their country during the Second World War were guests of honour at a celebration hosted by the Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Thursday.

A service of remembrance, hosted by Baroness Floella Benjamin and attended by veterans and their families as well as Minister for Veterans and People Al Carns, ended the day, with musical performances from Russell Watson, wreath-laying and a Spitfire and Hurricane flypast.

D-Day veteran Donald Rose, who celebrated his 110th birthday on Christmas Eve, attended the event.

He was attached to the division which liberated Belsen concentration camp in Germany and said he did not get to celebrate the momentous day 80 years ago.

He said: "When I heard that the armistice had been signed 80 years ago, I was at Belsen and, like most active soldiers, I didn't get to celebrate at that time. We just did what we thought was right and it was a relief when it was over.