On this day

72 YEARS AGO (1945)

Our front page told of joyful scenes as a crowd outside Buckingham Palace “stretching as far as the eye could see” celebrated VJ Day, the end of the war against Japan.

65 YEARS AGO (1952)

In Lynmouth, Devon, 34 died when 9in of rain fell in 24 hours and two rivers merged to form a raging torrent that devastated the village.

57 YEARS AGO (1960)

Cyprus, under British control since 1878, gained independence after a referendum, with Archbishop Makarios III elected its first president.