IN THE MIDDLE 12-PAGE REPLICA EDITION
It was just days after Victory In Europe was declared when The Sunday Post of May 13, 1945 went to press. The paper reflected the mood of national celebration, but also the feeling of anger at the lives needlessly lost during the years when the world was at war
PAGE 1 Hunt for Nazi
Our front page story tells of the reported arrest of Heinrich Himmler, described as the “most wanted of Nazi war criminals” but the reports, from Paris, are premature and he is not arrested for another week.
Meanwhile, we tell how Germans are in ragged retreat from Czechoslovakia where 60,000 have passed through “Surrender Corner” near Prague.
PAGE 6 No fair shake
“Why did an Allied General shake hands with Goering when he gave himself up?” asks the story on Page 6.
“Why was the perpetrator of the Rotterdam massacre allowed to tell an Allied camera-man: ‘Hurry up. I want my dinner.’?”
PAGE 2 Saved by Scots
“Mother of five, Mrs A Leitch, Glasgow, writes every week to her foster-son, Luigi Miniotti, an Italian boy orphaned by shellfire,” reads the story on Page 2.
“The boy has been adopted by her husband, Private A Leitch, a cook in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, now living in Italy.
“Nearly a year ago, Luigi’s parents were killed when a German shell demolished their home. His sister died two hours later. Homeless and terrified, Luigi wandered until he fell exhausted in a ditch beside the road. He was found asleep by Pte Leitch.
“When the company was ordered to move on, Tony cried and begged to go with them. His tears earned him a home. Today, Luigi is a smart, if diminutive, member of the famous fighting Argylls. Two hours daily, a clerk teaches him to read. Tony goes through his lessons with a pronounced Scottish accent.”
PAGE 3
As is usually the case with old newspapers, some of the advertisements in this edition of the The Post are scientifically dubious, but top entertainment.
On Page 2, there is an advert for Clarke’s Blood Mixture. On Page 3, one for laxative chewing gum. And, if that isn’t enough to put you off your tea, there is a rather cheeky advert for Nestle’s Milk on Page 5.
A mum’s story
“It was the early months of 1944,” read the article on Page 9 that asked readers to recall their worst moments of the last fiveand-a-half years.
“My only son – a laddie of 19 years – was a navigator on a Lancaster bomber,” continued the heart-rending tale. “He had been over most of the big German industrial towns —Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin (five times, I think), Leipzig, Stettin. We knew it wouldn’t be long till it was over, and he’d be getting a wellearned rest after completing his tour of ops.
“How great was the suspense. How great we prayed as he neared his 30th op! When we learned he had only one more flight to do, my feelings were indescribable. Barely conscious of the world and what was going on around me, I shut myself away from it all and prayed.
“Then came the BBC news that Lancasters had bombed Essen, 33 aircraft missing. I’ll never forget
that moment as long as I live. I found normal life impossible that morning. I just sat hoping, praying, and sobbing a little. Then a dreaded knock on the door. The telegram boy – but I couldn’t face it. He read the message. And what a message it was – cc Dear Mum, finished last op. Home soon.”
PAGE 11 Oor big party
Despite some darker stories, the historic edition is full of optimism.
From the advert on
Page 5 celebrating the “land of your dreams” to the piece on Page 7 hailing the fact that it is no longer illegal to use binoculars.
Even Oor Wullie got in on the act. The comic on Page 11 shows him cheering VE Day and even shaking hands with PC Murdoch, much to the chagrin of Soapy Souter and Fat Boab.