Celebrations mark 70th anniversary

STREET parties, tea dances and other themed events will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

It’s been 70 years since Victory in Europe day – VE Day – when spontaneous dancing and singing exploded in the streets around the country on the news that the war with Hitler was over.

The celebrations marked an enormous wave of relief for people around the country who had endured six years of war, tinged with sorrow at the loss of so many young lives.

And this Friday, on the anniversary of VE Day, people are being urged to share in that celebration again with events to mark the occasion.

Events are set to take place across Macclesfield, Cheshire East and the country.

Residents are urged to host their own events and share memories of the historic day.

Volunteers have organised a family fun afternoon from 1pm on Friday, at Banbury Park, Hurdsfield.

On Sunday, May 10, Cheshire Streetwise, a community interest company, is holding a VE Day- themed afternoon tea party between 1.30pm and 3.30pm at the Elim Centre, on Parsonage Street.

Mike Suarez, chief executive of Cheshire East Council, said: “It’s important that this anniversary is marked in the appropriate way and we hope that as many people as possible will join in events taking place in their community.

“Our older generation who experienced the war will have bittersweet memories, with so many people losing loved ones.

“But we hope they will be able to join in and share their recollections and help to make this a mem- orable occasion.

“In 1945, VE Day injected an immediate feeling of euphoria across the country.

“People partied and celebrated and we have planned events to celebrate as well as commemorate.”

Civic services and wreath laying ceremonies will mark the event at locations in the borough. The first is outside Macclesfield Town Hall at 10.45am.

Addresses will be given to include the acknowledgement of the huge loss of life in the Second World War and its impact on the nation.

A total of 92,000 civilians were killed, while the battlefield, air and sea hostilities claimed the lives of 357,116 service men and women.

VE Day marks the moment when Admiral Donitz surrendered after Hitler’s suicide on April 30, 1945.

‘VE Day injected an immediate sense of euphoria’