Queen and captain lead VE salutes
For all the speeches and tributes, there were really only two people the British public waited to hear from on this strangest of anniversaries.
One of them – the Queen – ended up delivering what will be remembered as a speech of historic importance. Seventy-five years to the minute since King George VI used a radio and television address to mark the surrender of Nazi Germany, his eldest daughter commanded the airwaves with her own message of hope to a nation again reeling from death and fear.
‘‘The war had been a total war. It had affected everyone, and no one was immune from its impact,’’ she said. ‘‘At the start, the outlook seemed bleak. The end distant. The outcome uncertain. But we kept faith that the cause was right. And this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through.
‘‘When I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.’’
Years of planning had gone into the 75th anniversary of VE Day but all public events were swiftly cancelled as coronavirus swept across Britain and emptied the Buckingham Palace forecourt,
Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and streets that 75 years ago were packed with revellers celebrating the end of World War II.
‘‘Today may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead, we remember from our homes and our doorsteps,’’ the 94-yearold monarch said. ‘‘But our streets are not empty: they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.’’
The day’s other headline act – Captain Tom Moore – wasn’t even a household name until early April. In the month since, the World War II veteran has morphed into a de facto greatgrandfather of the nation.
The centenarian has raised a staggering £32.8 million (NZ$66m) for doctors and nurses risking their lives to contain the deadly coronavirus pandemic. He originally planned to raise £1000 by walking 100 laps of his back garden in Bedfordshire before he turned 100.
In Moore, Britain has a new national treasure – and a fresh link to one of history’s most defining moments.
He spent two years fighting in Burma but had returned to England to work as a tank instructor when Winston Churchill addressed the nation at 3pm on May 8 with news that the remaining members of Hitler’s senior command had signed formal surrender documents. Moore had a day off to celebrate the victory but his thoughts were with friends who would end up fighting in Japan for a further three months.
‘‘We stopped instructing for the day, and there were activities in the bars. A lot of girls, a lot of boys . . . put those together and you get a good time,’’ he told a new documentary about his life in the army. ‘‘[But] I wasn’t all that happy because all my friends were still out fighting. They didn’t have a day off for VE Day. They were still fighting.’’
In Germany, President FrankWalter Steinmeier lamented the subdued commemorations and said European leaders had an obligation to the fallen to keep the continent united.
‘‘May 8, 1945 marked the end of the Nazi reign of tyranny, the end of night-time bombing raids and death marches, the end of unprecedented German crimes and the end of the Shoah, that betrayal of all civilised values,’’ he said.
‘‘Here in Berlin, where the war of annihilation was conceived and from where it was unleashed, and whither it returned with the full force of destruction – we had planned to commemorate this day jointly with others.
‘‘Perhaps this state of being alone will return us in our minds to May 8, 1945. On that date the Germans really were alone. Germany had suffered military defeat, political and economic ruin, and moral collapse. We had made enemies of the entire world,’’ he said.
‘‘Today, 75 years later, we are forced to commemorate alone, but we are not alone. That is today’s good news. We live in a vigorous and well-established democracy, in a country that has been reunified for 30 years, at the heart of a peaceful and united Europe.’’
In her special broadcast – one of only a handful she has delivered outside the traditional Christmas Day message – the Queen said the best way to honour those who did not come back was to ensure war never happened again.
‘‘Many people laid down their lives in that terrible conflict,’’ she said. ‘‘They fought so we could live in peace, at home and abroad. They died so we could live as free people in a world of free nations. They risked all so our friends and neighbourhoods could be safe. We should and will remember them.’’ Nine