Latest news with #BernardMorgan
Times
08-05-2025
- General
- Times
Veterans gather at VE Day memorial service to keep history alive
On May 8 1945, George Durrant was sweating in the Burmese jungle when the news came through of victory in Europe. The Americans air-dropped them some beer to celebrate. Bernard Morgan, who had fought through France since D-Day, marked VE Day in better style in Germany, with a bonfire and, his friends having requisitioned a passing deer, venison. Four thousand miles south, Wilson Cotton learnt of Nazi capitulation via a morse code message sent to his ship off Africa. He got an extra day's pay, then went back to work. Albert Lovett didn't get that. The bomber crewman rolled up his sleeve for injections in preparation for a posting to the Far East. Eighty years ago, the random fortunes of war, saw these men scattered
BBC News
08-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Midlands families' VE Day letters show delight and relief
Families' VE Day letters show delight and relief 9 minutes ago Share Save Amy Ford BBC Radio Stoke Share Save BBC Anne Jelves was among the many people to respond to the BBC appeal for VE Day letters Delight at the war's end, cheering and singing from soldiers and relief have been among the emotions around Victory in Europe Day brought to light through a BBC appeal. BBC Local Radio in the Midlands, in partnership with the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, asked the public earlier this year for letters sent from the front lines and the home front. Dozens of people answered the call and 12 were eventually selected to become part of an exhibition at the arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, here is a flavour of some of them: Pleasure at VE Day news Bernard Morgan Bernard Morgan was serving in Germany when he received a telegram to say World War Two was ending in Europe Bernard Morgan, now 101, from Crewe, in Cheshire, joined the RAF when he was 18. He completed a code and cypher course in 1943 and was posted to 83 Group Control Centre. Mr Morgan, whose family comes from Chester, was a front-line code operator as his unit moved across Europe and was based in Schneverdingen, north Germany when the war on the continent ended. He received a telegram on the 6 May 1945 telling him the war would soon be over but was urged to keep the knowledge to himself. Bernard Morgan Mr Morgan was urged not to divulge the contents of the message Part of the message reads: "The German War is now over. "At Rheims last night the instrument of surrender was signed which in effect is a surrender of all personnel of the German forces all equipment and shipping and all machinery in Germany." Reflecting on the message 80 years later, Mr Morgan, said: "I was so pleased to get it because, like all of us, we all wanted to get back home... but you can't do it overnight." He met the Princess of Wales on Monday as part of VE Day commemorations at Buckingham Palace. 'A great day of celebration' Lynn Masters shared a letter her father received John James Woodman was born on 1 July 1919 in the Aston area of Birmingham. He was called up in 1939 and joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. In 1944, he was transferred to the Royal Engineers and served in various locations overseas. Mr Woodman was orphaned when he was 15 and the letters he wrote were mainly to his aunt Alice and uncle Gregory, who lived in Coaley. The letter his family shared was written to them on 15 November 1945, when he was hoping to hear details of his return from Africa back to England. The letter has a focus on the end of the war and looking towards the future. Mr Woodman describes the arrival of a ship, taking a number of soldiers back to England: "It was a grand sight to see all the lights on and everyone cheering and singing... as she put her nose out to the happy journey home." His daughter Lynn Masters said, after sharing the letter, that "it must have been a great day of celebration for them all". 'Just an ordinary guy' Ian Kempe said his father, Philip, served in the Navy Philip Kempe, born in Reading, Berkshire, in 1918, joined the Royal Navy in 1935 and served until 1948, reaching the rank of petty officer. In 1940 he met Grace Kingston while they were in Warwickshire in Rugby town centre, when he asked Grace for directions and their love blossomed from there. The letter used in the exhibition is one of many sent between the two of them between 1940 and 1948 - when Mr Kempe left the service. The message was written on 1 May 1945 and, in it, Grace mentions some news she had heard on the radio, and his family think she was referring to the death of Adolf Hitler. Philip's son Ian said: "He was just an ordinary guy. "It's hard to imagine him doing all the stuff he did for the Navy, Russian convoys and in the Mediterranean." After the war, Mr Kempe lived in Rugby and worked for a telecommunications company in Coventry. Charles Morris' letter talked about his relief that the war was over Charles William Morris was in the Royal Irish Fusiliers, when he was 19, from 28 January 1942. He was sent to Girvan, Scotland, in October 1942 before they left for north Africa by ship in December 1942. The letter his family shared is between Charles and Betty McCrindle. They met when Betty was nearly 16 and working in a hairdresser. The pair wrote to each other for nearly three years while Mr Morris was away and finally married on 24 October 1945. This letter was written in Austria on 2 May 1945 - Mr Morris expresses his love for Betty and tells her that he has her photo framed over his bed. He talked about his relief that the war was over and how he hoped not to be sent to fight in Japan. "The Jerries have just left things, they bombed everywhere, knocked everything about. It's the worst place since north Africa," he wrote. His daughter Anne Jelves, who lives in Leicester, said: "I always knew there was a box of letters... after dad died I couldn't bear to read them at first. "When I did they were really interesting." Simon Hobbs said many of his grandfather's letters were very moving Nicholas "Nic" Spruyt worked as a trader in the borough market near London Bridge during the war. In 1939, his wife Marjorie and their children travelled away from London, seeking safety from the bombings of the Blitz. The mail was their main means of keeping in touch with each other and, after they died in the 1970s, their children found a large box of their letters. Dated 5 May 1945, the exhibition letter is from Beverwijk in the Netherlands and was sent to Nic from a stranger - British soldier Leslie Middleton. The civilian post was not working, so Nic's sister had asked the soldier to write through the military post to let him know she was safe and well. His grandson Simon Hobbs, from Derbyshire, said: "A lot of the letters are very moving... they combine the domestic with details of the war." The exhibition runs at the National Memorial Arboretum until 16 November 2025. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Top secret WW2 message finally revealed as codebreaker, 101, says 'we were in danger'
Bernard Morgan had to keep his joy to himself after discovering World War II in Europe was over A brave young man from Crewe had one hell of a secret to keep during World War II and it was no ordinary secret but frontline codebreaker Bernard Morgan was no ordinary young man. He knew the 'German war' was over BEFORE the rest of the world. 'I had a lot of secrets up here,' Bernard said, tapping his head as he told The Mirror about his memories of the war. Bernard, then 20, was the youngest RAF sergeant to land on D-Day and was known as "Sergeant Morgan, the Airmens' friend". He saw his fair share of terror, positioned close to the front line as the troops moved through Belgium, Holland and Germany. Referring to the bible he kept in his top right pocket of his jacket, Bernard, now 101, said: 'We all said our prayers every night because we knew we were in danger. Our unit was so near the army.' Bernard and his unit had advanced through the dead bodies on Gold beach in Normandy on June 6 1944 and had a narrow escape when an RAF Lancaster crash landed just feet away - killing six men. His crucial role in World War II was to pass on messages to show where the planes were needed to 'fight the enemy'. Bernard explained how, in the run-up to what would be VE Day he was working in the intelligence unit set up in a field near a small village called Schneverdingen in Germany. A few days before they'd arrived in the village, a 'big pit' had been built by the Germans, with dozens of dead prisoners dumped inside in a bid to hide their war crimes. Locals told them the Russian prisoners were stood on the edge of the pit and shot, falling dead - or dying - into their prepared grave. 'We'd heard about the concentration camps but to see the results was very upsetting, so near to the end of the war as well,' he said. But after three months stationed in Germany, he was left "overjoyed" after decoding a very different type of message. Sitting in the care home where he lives in Crewe, Bernard, carefully holds the two messages he typed up and has spent 80 years looking after - 50 years of that in secret until he was finally free to speak about them in 1995. He reads out both of the treasured messages he decoded, the first from May 4th, 1945, which was: 'SECRET….All hostilities on second army front cease at 0800 hours tomorrow May 5…' The second message read: 'The German war is now over. At Rheims last night the instrument of surrender was signed which in effect is a surrender of all personnel of the German forces, all equipment, shipping and all machinery in Germany…nothing will be destroyed anywhere. 'The surrender is effective some time tomorrow, this news will not be communicated with anyone outside the service nor to members of the press.' 'I couldn't tell anyone what I did in the war because I'd signed a secrecy document, my parents didn't even know what I did,' says Bernard. Of his VE Day experience, Bernard recalled how he had to keep the secret from the 300 airmen in his unit. "This message came by morse code via the RAF wireless operators. They gave me the coded message and then the keyboard on the Typex machine, you typed the message out. As I realised what it said; I thought 'this could be the last one I'm doing'. We knew that was the end of war in Europe. 'It was only the cipher staff allowed in the office and we always had dinner together because we were not allowed to talk to anyone else. It told us the war in Germany would finish and nobody was to be advised. Two days later the telegram said the war was over...I was overjoyed to see that one." That's when the party started. 'There was plenty of drink but I didn't drink because I was a very keen athlete. But it was wonderful watching them all party. They were all quite merry, singing along. Lili Marlene. It was a German (love) song that the army captured.' Bernard breaks into song, explaining how he sings it at choir practice at his care home, to the 'younger' residents. Going back to his VE Day memory, he added: 'It was a great atmosphere. Some of the lads went to the forest and shot a deer and carried it back in traditional style with a pole over the shoulder and the deer hanging down. 'By chance the sergeant in charge of the cooking was a butcher in civvy street. Plenty of beer came from the airmen's and officers' mess. 'We had a big party, they chopped down trees from the local wood and had a giant bonfire. There was a lot of singing.' In the days following the incredible news, Bernard's diary shows how his life transformed. He notes how instead of decoding urgent messages he: 'Won a three mile cross country race, Scored a goal in a 4-3 win against the army party in the officers mess, played softball. It was one of 12 football games he'd played during the war, including one on the landing craft on the way to Normandy, which was a draw. His football boots were always strapped to his kit bag. Before joining the forces Bernard used to be a clerical officer in Crewe for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, which involved a lot of typing. But on his 18th birthday he signed up and after basic training spotted an advert titled 'Code and cipher staff required - immediate overseas posting.' On his way across the channel, the troops were given a French phrase book, the only clue as to their destination and the horror that awaited them. As the youngest RAF sergeant to land at D-Day, Bernard was given the jobs 'nobody else wanted' like manning the Bren gun on the landing craft before they arrived on Gold beach on D-Day. Having traversed the bodies and hellish scenes on Gold Beach, Bernard, was left behind a Bren gun at a three-road junction where he admitted to being 'frightened to death'. Tragically he lost three young wireless operators in Normandy. He never forgets their sacrifice and still visits their graves whenever he is able. 'They were the lads bringing me the messages," he says: "One of them was 19 and two were 20.' He tears up as he recalls the men he'd always address by their first names. After the Germans surrendered his unit was disbanded and returned back to England but it would be another 12 months before his war was over. He was given tropical kit and sent to join HMS Corfu, heading for Japan. But the Japanese surrendered before they made it there and instead he spent 12 months in India, where he contracted diphtheria and had to fight for his life in a Delhi hospital for three months. His weight dropped to just seven stone, but he kept his illness a secret from his mum as he was an only child. as he didn't want to worry them. 'She said 'you must be poorly, your letters are stamped at the British Military Hospital in Delhi'. "If she knew I'd got diphtheria my mother would have had a heart attack so I wrote back and told a white lie and told her I was doing the typing, " he said. 'Strangely enough when I got better they had me doing all their typing for the hospital! "When I got home I told her. She broke down in tears to think I'd been so ill." After his war was finished the talented sportsman, a cross-country running champion, missed out by seconds on qualifying for the 1,500m run in the 1948 London Olympics, losing to comedian Bobby Davro's father Bill Nankeville. Bernard worked on the railways and was a turnstile operator for local footie team Crewe Alexandra for 57 years. His 51-year marriage ended with his wife's death and he has one daughter, Sheila. 'The ones who won the war are the ones who gave their lives, they are the ones we have to thank really. I'd also like to thank the Royal British Legion for the care and attention they have given to all troops and civilians for many years. They have looked after me throughout my air force career and beyond.' During his return to mark D-Day last year a great grandchild, Albie arrived and his family snapped our Mirror front page in his cot to mark the occasion and pay tribute to his brave great grandad. VE Day: 80th Anniversary Magazine Specials To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we bring you two special special collector's magazines that look back at events that led to the end of World War II in Europe and marked a new era. In the VE Day 80: Anniversary Collector's Edition we share photographs from the street parties that were held all over Britain, while esteemed author and journalist Paul Routledge paints a picture of how the day was bittersweet, mixed with jubilation and hope for the future, as well as sadness and regret for the past. Routledge also recounts the key events of the Second World War, including Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and Pearl Harbour. The magazine costs £9.99. Also available is World War Two - A History in 50 Photographs, a definitive pictorial account of the war. Carefully chosen from hundreds of thousands of images, this commemorative magazine shares 50 exceptional photographs - including many rarely seen shots - that capture the devastating moments, horror, hope and eventual triumph of World War Two. The magazine costs £6.99.
BBC News
03-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
VE Day letters go on display in Staffordshire after BBC appeal
Letters and documents from VE Day are going on show in an exhibition set up through a partnership between the BBC and the National Memorial from the Frontline - Words, War and Victory is open to the public at the arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, from Saturday until 16 appeal by BBC Local Radio in the Midlands for letters sent from the frontlines and the home front from around the Midlands was answered by dozens of letters were ultimately selected and will be displayed alongside a film showing some of them being read by family members. They include messages donated from Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Sutton Coldfield and in the display is a copy of a telegram announcing the end of the war, sent days before the German forces was loaned to the exhibition by Bernard Morgan from Crewe, Cheshire, who was based in Germany in May 1945 working in an intelligence unit. The display has gone on public show ahead of Thursday's celebrations to mark 80 years since 8 May 1945, when World War Two ended in another letter, Sgt Tony Wade describes his unit's advance through Germany and how he saw troops surrendering in their letter was donated by his daughter, Susannah Midwinter, who said reading the letters "makes me very emotional and it really brings the personalities completely back in focus and alive".The exhibition is being held in the drum area of the National Memorial Arboretum. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Submissions call out for VE Day exhibition
An exhibition of letters and documents from VE Day is being set up in a collaborative project between BBC Local Radio in the Midlands and the National Memorial Arboretum. The display will be unveiled ahead of 8 May 2025 celebrations to mark 80 years since that day, which brought an end to World War Two. The BBC and the National Memorial Arboretum are appealing for items to be submitted from families' archives. The exhibition which will open on 3 May and run until 16 November at the arboretum, will feature letters sent from the front lines and the home front. It will include things like a telegram from Bernard Morgan, a 101-year-old veteran from Crewe. Mr Morgan was based in Germany in May 1945 working in an intelligence unit. During his time in the war, he signed the secrecy act and was involved in code breaking. Towards the end of hostilities he received a telegram telling him the war was about to end, but was barred from sharing the news until days later. "On the 6th May [1945] we were told not to advise anybody that the war would be over," he said. "On VE Day I was with my unit at a small place in Germany called Schneverdingen. I received a telegram saying the war in Germany would finish in two days time." Bernard says he was "so pleased" to receive the news and "we all wanted to get back home, but it didn't happen overnight". If you have any letters or documents, specifically from around the end of the war, BBC Local Radio would love to hear from you. Submissions are open now and close on 28 March at 23:00 GMT. More details can be found here. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Memorabilia call for 80th anniversary of VE Day VE Day 80th anniversary art competition launched Memorial arboretum marks significant year of 1944 VE Day - Letters From The Front
