Victory in Europe Day celebrations began on a sad note on Friday after it was announced that nine British veterans from the renowned Royal Chelsea Hospital had died from coronavirus.
The news put the severely curtailed commemorations into sharp relief as Britain fell silent for two minutes at 11am in respect to the war dead on the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
The silence was led by the Prince of Wales marking the moment in 1945 when Britain, American, Russia and their allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
A four-day long weekend and hundreds of street parties had been planned mass celebrations but with Britain still in lockdown and suffering Europe’s highest Covid-19 death rate it has now been muted. Military parades and a service at Whitehall’s Cenotaph, the place where Britain remembers its dead, have also been cancelled
The Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force display team, flew over the quiet streets of London while people across the country observed the silence. A Spitfire also flew along the southern coast in tribute to the Second World War generation.
At the Royal Chelsea Hospital in London there was greater poignancy when the retirement home of British Army pensioners announced nine ex-service personnel had died over the last month.
Among them was Fred Boomer-Hawkins, who died 1 April, having served in the infantry for 20 years. Writing on Facebook his son Terry said: “If the government showed footage of someone at the end with this virus it would scare people and they would heed the advice I am sure.”
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The Royal Air Force Red Arrows conduct a flypast over London to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day), the end of the Second World War in Europe. AFP -
The British RAF Red Arrows conduct a fly past over London to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe. Reuters -
A Union flag hangs from a home during celebrations for the 75th anniversary of VE Day in Saltburn By The Sea, United Kingdom. Getty Images -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson observes a two-minute silence in Downing Street to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day in London. AFP -
Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsey Hoyle, left, attends a wreath-laying service in the Houses of Parliament to coincide with the 11:00 am nationwide two-minute silence. AFP -
Officers from the Household division observe a two-minute silence to commemorate the Victory Day 75th anniversary at the Guards memorial at the Horse Guards Parade in London. EPA -
Poppy wreaths on a war memorial at Saint Peter and St Paul Church in Tring, United Kingdom. Getty Images -
A memorial message broadcast is displayed at Piccadilly Circus, central London, to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe. Reuters -
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the German Parliament Bundestag Wolfgang Schaeuble, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Council Bundesrat in Germany Dietmar Woidke and the presiding judge of the German Federal Constitutional Court's second senate, Andreas Vosskuhle attend wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two, at the Neue Wache Memorial in Berlin, Germany. EPA -
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a wreath laying ceremony in Berlin to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two. EPA -
Soldiers attend commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory Day and the end of WWII in Europe at the Soviet War memorial at the boulevard 'Strasse des 17. Juni' in Berlin, Germany. AP Photo -
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes, from right, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, and former French Presidents Francois Hollande and Nicholas Sarkozy as he attends a ceremony to mark the end of World War II, at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. EPA -
Mr Macron lays a wreath of flowers during a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. EPA -
A French national flag is displayed on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as part of celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of World War II victory in Europe. AFP -
French soldiers from the Sentinelle security operation patrol, next to the Eiffel Tower where a French national flag is displayed as part of celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of World War II victory in Europe. AFP
Sir Adrian Bradshaw, governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, said: “Our pensioners have risked their lives serving our nation through war and conflict somewhere in the world, just as our NHS staff and care workers are providing vital and sometimes dangerous service to the nation here at home during this crisis.”
While there have been military flypasts and wreath-laying, the tone of the commemorations has been tamped down to reflect the pandemic.
There will be no mass gatherings, no hugging or kissing, but that day of liberation is being remembered from Belfast to Berlin. For the few surviving Second World War nveterans, many living in nursing homes under virus lockdowns, it's a particularly difficult time.
Despite the death toll topping 32,000, the country's self-isolation lockdown has started to fray. Officials are concerned that fine weekend weather across Britain will encourage people to go out more and ignore the social distancing measures.
The government, which has been accused of mishandling the crisis, received further criticism today over its confused messaging on lifting lockdown measures.
The Prime Minister hopes to clarify the restrictions after meeting cabinet ministers on Sunday before making a speech to the nation announcing a potential end date to the enforced quarantine. But with 208,000 coronavirus infections, it is expected he will only allow unlimited recreational time outdoors and some shops to reopen.
While Boris Johnson said yesterday that the nation’s “gratitude would be eternal” to the wartime generation, his words were eclipsed by the new Labour Party leader.
The traditionally right-wing Daily Telegraph newspaper gave front page prominence to Sir Keir Starmer’s argument that the wartime generation must receive the “dignity and respect” they deserve.
Mr Johnson, who wrote a column for the newspaper until he became PM, has faced criticism over the failure to protect elderly in care homes where more than 8,000 people have died. The Telegraph highlighted Sir Keir’s comments about the “harrowing” impact of Covid-19 on the elderly.
In a letter to Second World War veterans Mr Johnson wrote: “Those of us born after 1945 are acutely conscious of the debt we owe... who protected our country in its darkest hour”.
Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, led the country in a two-minute silence at the war memorial on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Charles laid a wreath of poppies on behalf of the nation. At the main memorial on Whitehall in central London, traffic ground to a halt as people observed the silence.
The tributes will continue through the day. The victory speech of Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, will be broadcast on BBC Television.
Queen Elizabeth II, at 94 a World War II veteran herself, will speak to the nation at 9 pm, the exact time that her father, King George VI, addressed Britons 75 years ago.
