Churchill's iconic victory speech to stir the nation...

VE DAY 80TH ANNIVERSARY

- By Tony Whitfield

THE KING and Queen will lead the nation as it comes together to honour and pay tribute to the Second World War generation on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

In what may be the last big opportunity to remember the sacrifices made by a dwindling number of those who served on the home front and abroad — including in the Pacific — four days of celebrations will take place across the UK from tomorrow.

Actor Timothy Spall will open the VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations tomorrow at midday in Parliament Square, when he recites part of Winston Churchill's victory speech from 1945.

The 68-year-old star, whose played the wartime leader in The King's Speech movie in 2010 and at the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, will read extracts from the speech in which Churchill told Britons: "This is not a victory of a party or of any class. It's a victory of the great British nation as a whole."

Spall's appearance precedes a military procession led by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery in which Ukrainian personnel have been invited to join 1,300 armed forces personnel and cadets through Whitehall and The Mall.