VE Day 70th anniversary: how the nation celebrated

Battle of Berlin

On 30 April 1945 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler committed suicide during the closing stages of the battle of Berlin. As news of his suicide emerged and Russian troops captured the city, there was a sense that the second world war was finally nearing its conclusion.

On 2 May Russian troops hoisted the Soviet flag over the German Reichstag building – symbolising the end of the Third Reich.

In the early hours of 7 May, at a school house in Reims, France, Germany signed its unconditional surrender to allied leaders. Active operations would cease by 11.01pm the following day, and a second surrender was signed in Berlin on 8 May to meet the demands of the Soviet command.

The declaration marked the end of six years of bloodshed in Europe which left 382,700 members of the British armed forces and 67,100 civilians dead.

Victory in Europe Day

Weary of war, Britain began to rejoice straight away rather than wait for the official celebrations. Bells rang out across the country, tug boats on the River Thames sounded their horns and planes overhead performed victory rolls. People began dancing in the streets, hanging out bunting and banners that turned towns and villages a sea of red, white and blue.

London was packed with people waving flags, and by midnight an estimated 50,000 packed into Piccadilly Circus, singing songs like Roll Out The Barrel to impromptu street orchestras of accordions and barrel organs as fireworks lit the sky. All across the country people held parties and parades, and went to church to give their thanks.

Winston Churchill

Finally, at 3pm, Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave his broadcast to the nation from the War Cabinet Office declaring that the war was over, his voice relayed over loudspeakers in Trafalgar Square. Britain’s wartime leader also gave an impromptu speech to ecstatic crowds from a balcony in Whitehall, telling them, “This is your victory… My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s a victory of the great British nation as a whole.”

Shortly after, King George VI, the Queen and the Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth came out on to the balcony at Buckingham Palace to share the celebrations with the ecstatic crowds. Princess Elizabeth, then 19, and Princess Margaret also famously joined in the jubilant celebrations – dancing the conga through the Ritz Hotel before joining the crowds outside the palace.