Joy and relief at war's end

We recall the people and places of the North East

- By DAVID MORTON

One of the most significant dates in the history of our nation - and better known as VE Day.

Today marks 80 years since Britain and her allies secured victory in Europe as World War II drew to a close. After six years of bloody conflict, which had raged on land, sea and in the air, claiming millions of lives and displacing millions more, Nazi Germany was finally defeated.

Eight decades on, the war is gradually slipping from living memory. Those who bravely fought for our freedoms are very few in number, while those who were children during the dark days and are still alive today are in old age.

Only a few decades ago, the conflict was still very much part of the country's collective memory. For so many of my own generation - born in the 1960s, growing up in the '70s and '80s - our grandfathers had gone off to fight, while our parents were youngsters on the home front living through deeply troubled times. 'Dad's Army' was on television, and there was a constant supply of war films at the cinema and on TV.