Behind the days Scotland and the civilised world held a VE party

TODAY is the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day when Scotland joined most of the civilised world in rejoicing at the unconditional surrender of Germany.

Tuesday, May 8, 1945 had been declared VE Day and a national public holiday, and most people started their celebrations early on the day when the church bells rang out.

Word of the surrender had leaked out on the previous day, Monday, May 7, and at 7.40pm the Ministry of Information simply announced: “In accordance with arrangements between the three great powers, tomorrow, Tuesday (May 8), will be treated as Victory in Europe Day and will be regarded as a holiday.”

WHO LED THE CELEBRATIONS?

THE royal family and prime minister Winston Churchill were the central figures. With street parties already under way, Britain fell silent at 3pm to listen to Churchill’s radio address.

He struck a sombre note: “We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead. Japan, with all her treachery and greed, remains unsubdued.”

King George V also summed up many people’s feelings of loss in his radio broadcast: “Let us remember those who will not come back … let us remember the men in all the services, and the women in all the services, who have laid down their lives. We have come to the end of our tribulation and they are not with us at the moment of our rejoicing.”

The king and queen and their children were joined on the balcony of Buckingham Palace by Churchill to greet the cheering crowds.

The then Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret famously dashed out to mingle with the crowds. As the Queen she later recalled: “We stood outside and shouted, ‘We want the King’… I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life.”

WHAT WERE THE SCENES LIKE IN SCOTLAND?

DESCRIPTIONS of the time as recorded by the press show that there was up to three days of partying, accompanied by huge feelings of relief that at last the Germans were beaten.

Troops and civilians alike danced in Princes Street in Edinburgh where floodlights lit up the castle and impromptu reels took place all over George Square in Glasgow, a city where the pubs ran dry.

There was also a radical political feeling. The SNP had won the Motherwell by-election to gain its first MP just weeks previously, and while the Conservatives expected to win because of Churchill’s wartime leadership, Labour were quietly confident.

WHAT DID MOST PEOPLE THINK?

WE have a considerable record of archive material on how the ordinary people of Scotland reacted to the events.

Some of the best are kept by the National Records of Scotland, who preserved this account by West Lothian miner William Paton, who kept a meticulous diary and wrote: “Mon 7th: This was a day of great expectations and waiting in Britain, as it had been announced over the radio that Churchill would be speaking at anytime to announce the end of the war with Germany, which had already been broadcast from Germany. It was later announced that he would not speak until tomorrow at 3pm and that tomorrow would be regarded as the first VE (Victory in Europe) day. The rejoicing started after that, and some of the bonfires which had been built in readiness were lit and a dance was held in the (Stoneyburn) Welfare Hall. Most workers would be on holiday during the next two days.

“Tues 8th 1st VE Day Holiday: “I heard Prime Minister Churchill speaking on the wireless at 3pm when he gave his long awaited and eagerly expected statement about the surrender of Germany. He announced that the war with Germany was over and that Germany had given in to unconditional surrender. It was a day of great rejoicing in every town and village in Britain and many stirring scenes were witnessed. In Stoneyburn bonfires were lit in every street at night and crowds gathered round them and sang into the wee sma hours, and a victory dance was run in the Welfare Hall.”

Such activities took place in every town and village in Scotland.

WHY WERE SOME PLACES QUIETER?

MANY areas of Scotland still had soldiers fighting in the Far East or imprisoned by the Japanese. Some towns like Clydebank had been pulverised by the Luftwaffe, though Peterhead of all places actually had the most air raids of the war – 28 in all, followed by Aberdeen with 24. More than 2500 people died as a result of German bombing of Scotland and 8000 were injured.

Some 57,000 Scots died in World War II. The average age at death was 21.

AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS?

THE thanksgiving parade of Scottish troops and auxiliary units was held in Edinburgh on Sunday, May 13, and that seems to have been the end of the party as the Allies then got down to the task of defeating Japan.

It is as well that people partied on VE Day and later on VJ Day, for there were tough times ahead. The Imperial War Museum on its website notes: “The huge economic cost of the war resulted in post-war austerity in a practically bankrupt Britain and the far-reaching political effects of the conflict ranged from the fall of the British Empire to the onset of the Cold War.”

All that was in the future on VE Day, however, when Scotland held its biggest victory party.