Whilst we are living in a very different 2020 to what we may have imagined, we still feel it’s very important to recognise the 75th anniversary of VE Day. There have been comparisons made that we are living in a war zone again; back to rationing, living under curfew and fighting a war against an invisible assailant; but there is no fair comparison to the sacrifices that people made in World War II in comparison to the current lockdown. Yes, we do not want to detract from the fact that people have lost their lives, yes, people are scared and yes for a few weeks some food items were hard to obtain; but when you consider what Europe had been through in World War II these last few weeks have been fairly comfortable for most of us.
VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, marks the day celebrating the acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945. However, it was also a time of great sadness and reflection as many people had lost loved ones in the conflict and life in general had been turned upside down during the fighting. Many battles continued elsewhere in the world, and some were still Prisoners of War abroad, as while VE Day marked a victory over Germany, it did not mark the end of World War II.
The 75th Anniversary was always planned to be a celebration of the peace that arrived afterwards and a mark of respect and thankfulness for those that gave their lives, however with a global pandemic arriving and lockdown the current situation, then events including street parties and concerts planned have had to be cancelled and while the Queen will address the nation once again, social distancing makes it a very different type of day. Many people are planning tea parties for their household, streets may be organising a socially distanced get together where everyone remains on their doorstep or front garden, some may quietly observe the two minute silence at 11am and others will toast loved ones they never knew later that day at 3pm when the National Toast to the Heroes of World War II is planned.
Whatever you choose to do, we wish you well and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who gave so much, human or animal, of every nationality, religion, or belief and as the inspirational Captain Tom has said “The sun will shine on you again, and the clouds will go away”.
Best wishes
The Horslyx Team