VE Day Parade & Flypast

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

Is anyone watching the VE Day parade?

My goodness, George has really shot up.

William has drawn the short straw and has Louis next to him. He’s been very patient considering he’s just spent the last few minutes tapping his shoulder trying to get his attention whilst William was talking to a veteran 🤣

I was thinking back to the commemorations for the 100 years of WW1 and there is always markedly different to VE. The poppies at the Tower each representing a man who died, the soldiers in full uniform appearing unexpectedly at stations and on High Streets, Danny Boyle's sand images of the likes of Wilfred Owen and Walter Tull washed away by the incoming tides. What can be said about such a colossal waste of young life on both sides than to express utter sadness at the tragedy?

There is always going to be a different aspect to WW2 because basically it was a conflict for survival against terrible evil and I imagine for a long time there was an element of sheer relief about that in any remembrance and perhaps that aspect continued. I think the D Day services were done well and there was more emphasis today on the (massive) contribution of the now Commonwealth. As this is going to realistically be the last major marking with any more than a tiny number of veterans perhaps anything in the future will be more reflective. I do hope all of them, military and civilian felt special today though, because they are and we owe them.

(Not much qualified to speak about WW2 as due to generational shifts both my grandfathers were born in the 19th C and served in WWI. My late FIL was still however in combat in the Far East and DH says he's been told it was not a day of utter joy for his Mum)

I was thinking about how my dggm must have been feeling as her two of her sons were off in the Pacific at the time after having been at D Day with the Navy. It’s mind blowing how much they moved around the world. Meanwhile my dm’s uncle was mourning the loss of his ds over the skies of Holland only a few weeks previously. He was only 19. Ffs. That’s no age.

This was Dh's experience when he worked at Selly Oak. Prince Charles's visits always meant staying a bit later because he spent plenty of time with all the injured soldiers. He has a lot of time for people. We also received a Highgrove Christmas pudding for several years after - they were delicious.

My grandad was born in December 1926. He was called up in the spring of 1945. I remember saying to him you must have been so thankful for VE Day as you only narrowly missed out on fighting. He said he was more worried about being sent to the Pacific as they were still fighting Japan and they had all heard horrific stories about what happened over there. He was that weird age where he was too old to be evacuated, too young to be enlisted. All he had to do was the odd shift as a fire watchman for the company he worked for. He said it was amazing how everyone went to work the day after his city was blitzed and how life carried on.

My other grandad, who I never met, was shot down in Africa but some how miraculously survived. He had severe PTSD and turned into an alcoholic when he went back to civvy street. My mum said he never talked about the war and drank to forget.

They were an amazing generation.

Louis is so funny 🤣

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/LAU3FRjCZWk

The Gloucesters were in Denmark yesterday, for a service with their royal family. Brigitte is Danish, of course.

I agree with you about Louis coverage and said so in an earlier post.

I didn't think the RF looked sad. There are some lovely photos especially from the Tea Party this afternoon showing the King on particular looking very happy and having a good laugh with the veterans. The parade was the serious part of the commemoration today.

My lovely dad, born in 1917, worked at Woolwich Arsenal before World War II. He tried to enlist in 1939 but was initially denied due to wearing glasses. They finally accepted him in 1940, and he went on to serve in the Royal Signals, with postings in South Africa, Libya, Egypt, and later Italy, eventually ending up in Germany.

He had what he called "a good war," as his unit typically operated about five miles behind the front lines. However, he remembered that the frontline soldiers he met during R&R in theatre often looked haunted with 1000 yard stares. He also candidly told me that it was the best time of his life — even better than getting married and having children ! He said, half-jokingly, that every day felt glorious just to be alive, surrounded by the camaraderie of his colleagues.

He was deeply unsettled when the Berlin Wall came down, as he never wanted to see Germany reunified. The trauma inflicted by the Germans had, in his words, tragically haunted both his own and his parents’ lives.

He wasn’t fond of Churchill either and, like many others after the war, was delighted to vote in a truly socialist government.

My mum worked in the Civil Service and was stationed in Blackpool during the war, helping coordinate troop mobilisations as soldiers passed through the hotels. After the war, as a teenage clerical assistant, she remembered that the ex-servicemen were a real handful — they spent much of their time in the office smoking and reminiscing, while she was treated like a skivvy, running around making tea and waiting on them! Of course, they felt they were due a long rest after fighting for their country.

They really don’t make them like that anymore. My parents left me with a strong grounding in resilience and a deep appreciation for life. And now, as we watch what feels worryingly like the drumbeats of war beginning again in parts of the world, I often think of their sacrifices — and wonder what lessons we’ve truly learned.

At these times I’m reminded of the words of Harry Patch, the last surviving combat soldier of World War I, who said: “War is organized murder, and nothing else.”

Philip Mountbatten (later D of E and PP) was captain of a ship which was in, I think, the Bay of Japan, and his boat took former prisoners on board. There's an interview with him on the internet but I can't tell you what it's called. He was in the Mediterranean and then the Baltic and then the far east by VJ Day.

Some great photos of the RF mingling with the Vets doing the rounds, Prince George seemed so engaged in the chatting, must be fascinating to hear all their experiences.

I loved seeing George looking really happy at the tea party for the veterans.He seemed very interested in what they had to say.
My grandfather was a captain in the Merchant Navy in WW2, his ship was torpedoed by the Germans.He managed to to have the fire extinguished and brought her back to safe harbour with no loss of life to the crew.He was awarded the OBE for bravery.Apparently he regarded his medal as nothing as a bit of tin.He became an alcoholic, causing my grandmother to leave him.I was still a toddler at the end of the war and have no memory of him as he lost contact with all his family. My dad said it was what he saw in the war that drove him to the bottle, my father and his brothers all served in the war and never spoke of it.

He was never suited to being a marine tbh, always a sensitive and artsy soul but pushed into the armed forces due to family tradition. I agree with others it took more guts leaving than wasting everyone's time by playing pretend soldier.

Never thought much about it. I was possibly too young to get the significance at the time.

But Yes it was a huge show of support for Edward.

Prince Philip is one of those people. Everyone sort of remembers his gaffs and daft things he said but during all the TV coverage of him after his death its almost like a whole other side to him came out.
Very passionate about the stuff he was involved with and dearly loved his family.
Things like I'd always assumed he was just a figure head for the DoE awards, No he was the driving force behind it.

Even if his own upbringing was horrific. Not knowing from one school holiday to the next where he'd be staying. His heart was in the right place

He was awarded the OBE for bravery.

@nildesparandum Are you sure it was an OBE? You may well be right but I didn’t realise OBEs were awarded for bravery in wars

I agree. The colour just seemed " off" for the event.

Sparse crowds considering it was a bank holiday and a lot of tourists in town. This is from the flypast.

I've seen comment from someone who was there that security seemed to be tighter than in previous similar events and there was a lot of subtle filtering going on which may have suppressed numbers on The Mall slightly at the time of the flypast.

Whether the authorities were twitched by int ( I take it people noted the police raid overnight Sun/Mon) and tightened things up around BP who knows.

Sparce crowds but did people know about it?

Unlike other events it just didn't seem publicised. I didn't know about it until flicking through the BBC News website on Monday morning.

The other big events are either annual like Trooping the Colour or really well publicised like the Coronation.

That terrorist plot must have affected security. I had no idea they were remembering VE day until I saw it on the BBC. I don't watch a lot of terrestrial television so miss things.

I didn’t know about it until it was on tv. I certainly would have gone if I’d have known to honour my late grandfather who served.

Yes I didn’t know they would be marking it on Monday but I guess it’s less disruptive to London to do it on an existing bank holiday.
There are some lovely photos of George with a veteran on the front pages of several newspapers.

It didn't seem to have been publicised in the same way as other similar events.

There are other events on each day this week culminating on Thursday 8th A service at Westminster Abbey and a Concert on Horseguards parade. but because it is a normal working /school day, the parade was held at the weekend.

This