Keir Starmer: My grandad's post-war silence reminds me of our VE Day sacrifice
Then a young princess, she slipped into the massed crowds unnoticed, swept up by a 'tide of happiness and relief'.
It was a moment of national togetherness unparalleled in the story of these islands. The greatest victory in the history of this great nation.
Today, 80 years later, we have another chance to mark this momentous occasion.
An opportunity to pay our respects once again to the lion-hearted generation that defeated Nazi evil.
And to give thanks to those who carry the torch of their service in our armed forces today.
But this year, VE day is also important for another reason. Because as time marches on, we must all now take responsibility for keeping this legacy alive.
I see this in my own family.
When I was growing up, people who had lived through the war were present in every community. But now, as my children learn about it at school, there are fewer members of that great generation on hand to share firsthand what they and the country experienced.
That's why this year's VE day is more than a celebration, it is a moment of national renewal.
We must come together as one country to honour those fought for our freedom. But we must also share their experience as the defining moment in our national story. Renew the bonds of our history so that future generations inherit them.
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Take the story of Stanley Fisher and Mervyn Kersch, two Jewish veterans of the Normandy landings. I spoke to Mervyn earlier this year, and theirs is a harrowing and courageous story.
Because Stanley and Mervyn went on to see the horrors inflicted on Jews like them at the Bergen Belsen concentration camp, when it was liberated by British forces.
It is a powerful reminder that our victory was not just a victory for Britain. It was also a defeat of the assembled forces of tyranny, hatred and evil. Nonetheless, for years after, Stanley and Mervyn were too haunted by the suffering to talk about what they saw.
It was the same for Colin Deverall, 101, who I met at Buckingham Palace on Monday. For decades, Colin never told his family about his involvement in D-day.
It was only six years ago, when he told his daughter he wanted to go back to France to 'see his mates' that they realised what he meant.
He wanted to say a proper goodbye to his comrades who never made it back to Britain.
This is the thing about our greatest generation.
Not only did they sacrifice so much, they often bore their burden in silence.
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I think of my own grandfather, who fought during the Second World War. We never did find out exactly what he saw. He simply didn't want to talk about it.
But this VE Day and every VE Day, we must talk about them. Because without their bravery, the freedom and joy of today's celebrations may never have come to pass.
So, let's hang up the bunting, as we did 80 years ago.
Let's light beacons that illuminate every corner of these islands, as we did 80 years ago.
Let's come onto our streets, raise our glasses and give thanks to the dedication of our armed forces, as we did 80 years ago. More Trending
But then, when the nation falls silent at noon, let's also make a solemn vow, together.
That we will all now do our bit to honour the heroes of 1945. And promise to take their stories with us into the future.
Because, as those joyous crowds 80 years ago probably knew, their victory will always be our finest hour.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.
MORE: VE Day: Party leaders write for Metro on momentous anniversary
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The Herald Scotland
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And that, as the conflict in Europe came to an end and the celebrations began, it would be Fife-born Rena who would be given a particularly onerous task; one that required all of her language skills, acute attention to detail and ability to keep a secret. Alongside another young woman who, like her, had studied at St Andrews University before being picked to work at Bletchley Park, Rena's war efforts continued well beyond VE Day. While 80 years ago the nation's focus turned to victory over Japan and VJ Day, she was in Germany, translating interrogations of German intelligence officers and, critically, Hitler's personal will. Bletchley Park, centre of Allied codebreaking during the Second World War Just how a young woman from Fife came to be given the job of translating the final personal will of the architect of the Holocaust was captured in the nick of time, when she finally opened up about her wartime work at the top secret home of the codebreakers, Bletchley Park. However, just a few months after speaking about her work to biographer Victoria Walsh, Rena passed away. She was 100 years old. Rena's memories of working in the German Book Room at Bletchley Park and her role translating Hitler form the basis of a new book that traces her journey from Lundin Links and a childhood 'filled with books, music and Scottish dancing' to the heart of the secret war effort and, later, a pioneering role at the BBC. 'They had the secrecy of their work drummed into them,' says writer Victoria, whose chats with Rena in her final months offer fascinating insight into the camaraderie of the Bletchley Park women, the daily demands made on them and the personal sacrifices they made then and in their later lives. 'She was still incredibly active even though she was 100 years old, and she remembered the war years very well. 'But even though the Official Secrets Act had been lifted and people like Rena were allowed to talk about their work, often they still didn't want to. 'And some would take it to their grave.' (Image: Contributed/Victoria Walsh) Perhaps surprisingly, adds Victoria, often the women who toiled at Bletchley Park, churning through tens of thousands of coded messages and translating snippets of details, didn't even realise the importance of their role. "They knew there was a secrecy aspect," she adds, "but they didn't even think they were doing anything special.' Read more Sandra Dick: Born in the Fife coastal village in 1923, Rena was bright and bookish with a fondness for poetry that blossomed into a love of languages. Determined to choose a career over being a housewife, she studied French and German at St Andrews University. Young Rena Stewart growing up in Fife. Image: Stewart Maclennan 'She was determined not to follow the usual route for women of the times, which was get married, have children or maybe teach," says Victoria. 'She thought studying French and German would open the world up to her. 'She didn't know exactly where it would take her and certainly couldn't have known it would lead her to Bletchley Park.' By the time she began her studies in 1940, Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, head of M16, had already taken over the country house near Milton Keynes for use as part of the secret war effort. Rena Stewart studied French and German at St Andrews University during the early years of World War II. Image: Stewart Maclennan Earmarked for the Code and Cypher School and Secret Intelligence Service, it was handy for a supply of bright students from Oxford and Cambridge. Soon, though it was snatching bright young graduates from around the country, many of them young women like Rena who could handle the huge amount of information that flowed through its walls. Recruited in early 1944, she worked in the German Book Room, surrounded by around 40 other women like her rattling away at typewriters, working in German and handling secret German military messages. Rena had a role at Bletchley Park (Image: Stewart Maclennan) 'She would be analysing secret messages, filling in any gaps and making sure they read properly so intelligence analysts could use them to chart the course of the war,' says Victoria. 'They worked all day in shifts, and it was serious work, probably in a smoky room and it would be stressful because they would know how important it was to the outcome of the war. 'But they also made sure they had fun in their spare time.' To keep spirits up and to drown out the constant clatter of typewriter keys, the women sang songs, including one which Rena sang for Victoria as she recalled her war work. Signatures of Bletchley Park women left on a song sheet from May 1945 (Image: Contributed) 'The second and last time I met Rena, in her living room down in London, we were talking about Bletchley Park when all of a sudden, she burst into song,' she recalls. 'She had remembered that she and the 40 women of 'The German Book Room' had made up a song about their time there, toiling away at their typewriters. 'The song went to the tune of My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean and was called The Swan Song of GBR. 'It was all about how fed up they were of typing and how they wished for the war to be over. 'Rena couldn't remember all the words, but it was an unforgettable moment.' Victoria later found Rena shared a typed copy of the song, signed by the German Book Room 'girls' in May 1945, to the museum at Bletchley Park. The end of the war in Europe brought their German Book Room work to a close, but Rena's service was not yet over. Instead of being demobbed, she and some others from the German Book Room were sent to an interrogation centre near Hanover in Germany, where they were given the important task of translating the statements of captured Nazi officers ahead of the Nuremberg Trials. Rena and other women on parade in Germany (Image: Stewart Maclennan)Another role specifically for Rena – known affectionately as Sgt McHaggis – and fellow Bletchley Park colleague and St Andrews alumna, Margery Forges, from Dundee, was even more pressurised. Handed to them by the head of the unit, Major Bill Oughton, they were told to work together on translating a document with the instruction: 'Take as long as you like, but there must be no mistakes, and you must agree on all details'. Hitler had two wills, a political will and a personal will which stated who his executors would be, stating how he had married Eva Braun and who was to inherit his belongings. It had been dictated 24 hours before he killed himself. It had to be perfect and they consulted every dictionary they could to make sure it was absolutely right. Tracking down the two wills had already been something of a saga involving a trio of messengers' efforts to smuggle the documents out of Germany before they were finally seized by the Allies. Sergeant Rena Stewart - affectionately known as Sgt McHaggis - while serving in Germany (Image: Stewart Maclennan) Rena and Margery were trusted with Hitler's personal will: a task Margery's family only discovered by chance, years after her death. Rena was finally demobbed in 1947, but that was just the start of another remarkable chapter. 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'Rena left Scotland in 1943 and never moved back,' adds Victoria. 'But she was always incredibly proud to be Scottish, and she kept up her love of Scottish culture for a century. 'She deserves to be better known.' The Story of Rena Stewart is published by Pen and Sword Books.
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