Last weekend, along with parliamentary colleagues, I attended a Service of Commemoration in St John’s Kirk in Perth for VE Day 80. This followed the national commemorations last week, most especially those on 8th May. With so few Veterans from this conflict still remaining, it was a poignant occasion for reflection and for me, an occasion to remember my late father and all those who served in the RAF in Malta during the very dark days of the Second World War.
I remember him telling me about the news that filtered through to his squadron after the suicide of Adolf Hitler in Berlin and the following instrument of surrender that was signed:
The German High Command will at once issue orders to all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations at 23.01 hours Central European time on 8 May 1945...
— German Instrument of Surrender, Article 2.
Great joy mixed with sadness for the families whose sons and daughters would not be returning home, relief, the return of hope and thanksgiving for Winston Churchill and the extraordinary people of Malta who, of course, were awarded the George Cross by King George VI.
As everyone knows, celebrations spontaneously erupted all across Europe and the Western World. In the United Kingdom, people took to the streets (including the late Queen Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret) to soak up the atmosphere but also to give thanks to all those who had brought about the Allied Victory, most especially Winston Churchill. His appearance, along with the King and Queen and Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous photographs ever taken.
It is easy to look back on the events leading to the collapse of the Nazi regime as being inevitable, but this would be an injustice and a falsehood. Following the fall of France in 1940, Britain and its Empire stood alone against Hitler at a time when it was survival, not victory, that was at the forefront of our nation’s mind. It is unimaginable to us in the UK today the struggles that the wartime generation faced, and we shall be forever grateful for their sacrifices in defending liberty against tyranny.
As tensions continue to rise across the globe today, driven by authoritarian forces, including in Europe, this event is perhaps a stark reminder of how long it has been in this country since society was mobilised for a total war of an existential nature. Eight decades ago the western world was steered through this crisis by leaders such as Churchill and Roosevelt with their unrivalled understanding of diplomacy and geopolitics. It will now be a test for today’s politicians whether they are capable of standing on the shoulders of these giants…
