It is important that we remember those who fought so tenaciously in defence of our freedom

THE flames of national pride are burning high across Britain. In this remarkable week of commemorations for the 80th anniversary of our Victory in Europe, reverence for our heroic past has stirred the soul of the nation.

- Leo McKinstry

The wartime generations who achieved the defeat of tyranny deserve all the praise they are now receiving, for together they wrote the most inspiring chapter in our island story.

Built on determination, resilience and solidarity, theirs was a truly collective effort that embraced everyone from the Land Girls, growing vital crops, to the bomber pilots inflicting devastation on the Nazi war machine.

Winston Churchill himself proclaimed: “It was a nation and race dwelling all round the globe that had the lion heart. I had the luck to be called upon to give the roar.”

Without the bravery of ordinary citizens as well as members of the Armed Forces, the course of global history would have been very different. Ours was the only country that fought Germany from the very beginning of the conflict to its close.

That is why it is so important that we honour the memory of all those who battled so tenaciously in defence of our freedom. The debt that we owe them is incalculable, just as our respect for their sacrifices should be unbounded.

Memorable

Today it is exactly eight decades since the German High Command surrendered to the Allies.

This special milestone has given a unique resonance to the week’s VE celebrations, which reach their climax at 9.30pm with the lighting of more than a thousand beacons throughout our land, accompanied by the public and 750 choirs singing the great patriotic hymn, I Vow To Thee My Country, composed by Gustav Holst and with lyrics by the diplomat Sir Cecil Spring Rice.

Cheering on the communal rendition of this cherished anthem, 95-year old Chelsea pensioner Colin Thackery, who served in the Royal Artillery, urges people to lend their voices and “so make this a truly unforgettable occasion”.