Cllr Mary Mears, chair of the Brighton-Hove branch of the Royal British Legion and Conservative councillor for Rottingdean Coastal Ward, has issued the following call to urge people to mark the VE Day 75th anniversary on 8 May. She says:
“This year a special Bank holiday has been declared to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE day.
The May Bank Holiday, which normally takes place on the first Monday of May, has been moved to Friday 8 May, to mark the occasion 75 years ago when it was announced that Nazi Germany had unconditionally surrendered, signalling the end of WW2 in Europe.
VE Day is a very significant day for the City of Brighton & Hove, which has a proud history of marking the occasion.
Photos from 8 May 1945 show street parties taking place across neighbourhoods in Brighton and Hove as well as a parade past Hove Town Hall.
The community celebrated as 3.8 million British men and 400,000 British women could begin to return to their homes and families, some for the first time in many years.
There has never been a better time to channel the spirit of resilience and community that our predecessors celebrated on 8 May 1945.
You can see a short film of the Brighton & Hove VE Day celebrations in 1945 here
Right now, 75 years on, we face another challenge here in Brighton & Hove which we are facing together as one community – the coronavirus pandemic.
While public gatherings will not be possible on 8 May, we can once again mark the occasion.
Residents across Brighton & Hove could put their flags out outside their front door to mark the day and pay tribute and remembrance.
I am calling on the Mayor to make this an official event for our city and encourage participation from as many households as possible.
On the day, the Royal British Legion are organising a number of remote activity events that everyone can get involved including:
A live VE Day 75 webcast at 11.15am
National moments of Remembrance and thanksgiving
A UK-wide singalong to Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again at 9pm
A VE Day learning pack for children aged 7-14 years
We can harness the spirit of the community to mark VE Day and bring our community and country together once more as we face this pandemic together.”
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