Nation to pay tribute to wartime heroes on 80th anniversary of VE Day

North Wales Chronicle

08-05-2025

A service of thanksgiving will take place at Glasgow Cathedral at 1pm, with guests including representatives from the military, veterans' organisations, emergency services and religious groups.
Members of the Royal British Legion, the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA), and the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA) will be taking part in the service, along with their families.
A number of elected officials are also set to be in attendance, including Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill.
Speaking ahead of the service Ms McNeill said: 'It's a huge privilege to attend the VE Day Commemoration in Glasgow to honour all the men and women in Scotland who served during the Second World War, and also to recognise the great sacrifice of the people of Glasgow during the Clydebank Blitz in March 1941.
'We owe our lives to those who served, and what will be a moving ceremony in Glasgow Cathedral is a fitting reminder of that.'
Lord Provost of Glasgow Jacqueline McLaren said: 'Thursday's service in Glasgow Cathedral is a time for us to come together to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made, courage displayed and the resilience of those who put their lives on the line to keep us safe and help build a better world.
'It's also a day to rejoice in peace and freedom, sometimes things that we take for granted. I hope as many people as possible can come along to join us in tribute and celebration.'
Reverend Mark Johnstone, minister at Glasgow Cathedral, added: 'We look forward to welcoming people from all walks of life, people of faith and none, as we reflect, give thanks and pray for a better tomorrow.
'Although there are increasingly few veterans still alive, the world we live in today was shaped by the outcome of the Second World War.'
Meanwhile, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray is set to visit Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in Edinburgh, where he will meet 99-year-old VE Day veterans Margaret Landels and George McLeod, as well as a number of other military veterans.
Scotland Secretary Ian Murray is set to meet veterans at Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA)
The factory has been producing poppies in Scotland since 1926, and its team of ex-service men and women produce millions of poppies and tens of thousands of wreaths, remembrance symbols and long-stem poppies each year.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Murray said: 'VE Day is a moment for us all to give thanks to the wartime generation. We thank all those who served at home and abroad, who gave so much to ensure the freedoms we enjoy today.
'Of course, the war was not over until VJ Day, but VE Day marked a crucial turning point in the war and in our history, and it is right that we continue to mark it 80 years on.'
The anniversary is also being marked in Scottish Government buildings, where a two-minute silence will be observed at midday.
The Scottish Government's Victoria Quay and St Andrew's House buildings in Edinburgh will also continue to be lit up in red as part of a campaign to light significant buildings across the UK.
Edinburgh Castle was among the buildings to be lit up in red on Tuesday in the run-up to the anniversary.
Memorial events are also set to continue in Lerwick aboard vessels that arrived there from Norway on Tuesday, in commemoration of the Shetland Bus that operated between Scotland and Norway during the war.
The events mark 80 years to the day since the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender on May 8 1945, bringing the Second World War in Europe to an end after more than five years of bitter fighting.