You are the very best of British, veterans told
■ Humbled Johnson hails our greatest generation ■ You would not yield, he says in a VE Day salute ■ ‘We offer our gratitude and we will never forget’
BORIS JOHNSON has written to the country’s veterans, saying without them “Britain and our entire continent would have succumbed to tyranny”.
In his letter written “with deep humility” to mark VE Day, the Prime Minister told those surviving servicemen that “no other generation of Briton can rival your achievements” and that the “survival of our country – and of freedom everywhere – rested in your hands”.
Mr Johnson told veterans “the world today would be unrecognisable and safe only for oppressors” if those who fought against Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime had failed.
“But you did not yield,” he wrote. “You persevered through every ordeal and hardship and you prevailed against a ruthless enemy, achieving victory 75 years ago.”
Mr Johnson said the generation was “simply the greatest generation of Britons who ever lived” and said many of those born after 1945 would not be here at all – or would not live freely – without them.
And he recognised the downfall of Hitler was not inevitable.
“You will remember moments of crisis, even desperation, as our country endured setback, defeat and grievous loss,” he said.
“What made the difference was your valour, fortitude and quiet yet invincible courage.”
He also paid tribute to women on the home front, who he said “broke enemy codes, worked the factories, sustained the economy and fired anti-aircraft guns, even as our cities were bombed night after night”.
He added: “And all the while, on battlefronts across the world, our soldiers, sailors and airmen fought a remorseless enemy.”
The letter was released after Mr Johnson visited Westminster Abbey yesterday to pay his respects to veterans who paid the ultimate price.
Today, after observing the two-minute silence in Downing Street, he will speak with a Second World War veteran via a video call.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will lead the two-minute silence from their residence in Scotland, broadcast on television and radio.
And the Prince of Wales will later read extracts from his grandfather King George VI’s diary documenting his experience of VE Day.
The former Speaker of the
House of Commons, Baroness Betty Boothroyd, has shared her memories of celebrating VE Day in Dewsbury when she was a teenager.
Baroness Boothroyd, in a podcast released by ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, remembered a street party – featuring Spam and butcher Alfie Wilson’s potted meat.
She said: “We were so lucky. Well it wasn’t luck, it was fortitude, it was hard work, it was devotion, it was commitment to the country, it was patriotism, it was all pulling together, it will never be forgotten – it should go down in our diaries forever.”
Flypasts have also been arranged by the Royal Air Force in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Red Arrows
will fly over London. Modern RAF Typhoons will fly over Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has also recorded a message of reflection to mark the day and extracts from Sir Winston Churchill’s victory speech will be broadcast throughout the day.
A special broadcast from the Queen will be aired at 9pm followed by a national singalong of Dame Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet
Again, in which the public will be encouraged to join in from their doorsteps and front gardens.
The PM will also read the recently discovered Edmund Blunden poem, VE Day.
Mr Johnson said: “Seventyfive years ago today, the people of this country celebrated victory against Hitler’s aggression.
“On the front line, they fought with courage, ingenuity and endurance and on the home front women defended our cities against air raids, worked the factories and ran the hospitals.
“This country triumphed thanks to the heroism of countless ordinary people and because of this hundreds of millions of people now live in peace and freedom today.”
He added: “We are a free people because of everything our veterans did.
“We offer our gratitude, our heartfelt thanks and our solemn pledge: you will always be remembered.” Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, also paid tribute to “the millions of people from across the United Kingdom and from across the world” who helped secure victory.
He praised the “shared values” of those who stood together and highlighted the legacy of “those that rebuilt and renewed our country after the war”.
He said: “We commemorate those who stood together for a better future.”
It wasn’t luck, it was devotion, patriotism, all pulling together. Former Speaker Betty Boothroyd, from Dewsbury.