TRANSCRIPT
"This is the BBC Home Service. Here is the news. During the first few moments of this bulletin the war in Europe is coming to ifs official end. One minute past midnight is the time for the official cessation of hostilities."
After six years of war, it was over.
The unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany meant victory for the allies.
And peace across Europe.
Britain's Prime Minister at the time, Winston Churchill:
"Hostilities will end officially at one minute after midnight tonight, Tuesday the eighth of May. We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing. Today is Victory in Europe day, tomorrow will also be Victory in Europe day."
John Goldsmith remembers it well.
Then a 14-year-old, he was playing football in the street when the news broke.
"Five of us playing, me in goal, and suddenly a little lad burst out of this shop here and got about so far and shouted 'It's over!', which meant that was the end of the war in Europe."
As church bells rang across London there were spontaneous parties.
John Goldsmith says years of wartime rules and restrictions were coming to a welcome end.
"Well, it was such a contrast, suddenly freedom. Mucking about, doing all sorts of things that were frowned upon as not being the right thing to do. But now, for instance, all these wonderful pictures of Piccadilly and places like that, the buses covered with people standing on the roof. You know, just going barmy, not necessarily due to drink or anything of that nature, but definitely they were letting their hair down."
Pat Owtram spent the war working for the Women’s Royal Naval Service, translating radio messages being sent by German ships.
Like many, she enjoyed the celebrations… but her war was not over.
“Of course VE day was terrific but our father was a prisoner in the far east and so our family was really longing most of all for VJ day, when we hoped we would be seeing our father again.”]]
80 years on… war rages in Europe once more.
This time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russians celebrate Victory Day on May 9th, with rehearsals underway for a grand parade through Moscow.
Chinese troops are among the limited number of other countries taking part this year.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned foreign leaders who travel there it will be up to the Russian government to ensure their safety.
"Putin is very eager to show off his tanks at the (Victory Day) parade but he should not think about that, he should think about the real end of his war. And three things are needed: more sanctions against Russia, continued support for Ukraine and a noticeable increase in defence cooperation across Europe. Russia must know that Europeans will absolutely defend themselves."
Vladimir Putin proposed a 3 day ceasefire over the holiday, which Ukraine has rejected as ‘theatrics’, demanding a month-long truce instead.
And so the fighting will continue… as the rest of Europe prepares to remember the end of hostilities in 1945.
