Echoes Of War

After years of sacrifice, VE Day marked both an ending and a beginning for the Scottish people

- by TREVOR ROYLE

FOR everyone who lived through the tumultuous days of spring 1945, the eagerly anticipated end of the Second World War came as a great relief.

It had been a long and bruising six years, and because no one in the country had been unaffected by the conflict, with its casualties, hardships and deprivations, the fact that the conclusion was in sight brought added hope and a sense of optimism.

Ever since the invasion of France in June 1944 and the advance into Nazi Germany in the latter half of the year there had been huge expectation that victory was around the corner, but it had taken another winter of hard fighting before the enemy was on the point of collapse.

On April 30, 1945, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler committed suicide, and this was followed a week later by the surrender of German forces in Europe.

Long awaited, Victory in Europe Day was announced for May 8 (a day later for the Soviet Union), and although the war against Japan had not yet ended and would not be concluded until August, it was possible for hundreds of thousands of people to celebrate the end of the fighting.

In expectation of the public need to mark the war's end, the Home Secretary established an interdepartmental committee as early as September 11, 1944, “to consider the arrangements which should be made for celebrating the cessation of hostilities with Germany”.