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Daily Mail
01-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Two-minute silence will mark 80 years since VE Day - as Britons prepare to celebrate with pubs and bars allowed to stay open longer
A national two-minute silence will be held to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the Government has announced. Government buildings and departments will remember and thank those who fought with a silence at 12 noon next Thursday, May 8. Other organisations are invited to follow suit, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said. VE Day commemorations will start on the May bank holiday on Monday May 5. The Cenotaph will be dressed in Union flags and there will be a military procession from Whitehall to Buckingham Palace and an RAF flypast over London. On May 8 - exactly 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe - there will be a party at Horse Guards Parade shown live on BBC One. Pubs and bars have been granted permission to stay open for longer to mark the anniversary. Venues in England and Wales which usually close at 11pm will be able to keep serving for an extra two hours to celebrate. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has encouraged the public to get involved, saying the planned celebrations are a 'chance for us to come together and celebrate our veterans and ensure their legacy of peace is passed on to future generations'. The number of military veterans who fought in the war continues to dwindle as time advances. One of them, 99-year-old RAF veteran Dennis Bishop, said he will be remembering friends 'who didn't make it like I did'. The former leading aircraftsman, who saw active service in France, Belgium, Germany and Africa, visited RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Wednesday as it prepares for the VE Day flypast on Monday. Mr Bishop was presented with gifts by the crew of an Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft - one of several contemporary aircraft flying in formation with their Second World War predecessors in the flypast. Speaking at the loading ramp of the aircraft, Mr Bishop told the PA news agency: 'There should be VE Days for other countries, and they should all start getting together and not beating each other, but coming together. 'For me, it's important to remember some of the poor devils who didn't make it like I did, because there are two or three old friends of mine that didn't make it.' Meanwhile, figures show that more than 50,000 children have connected with a Second World War veteran by mail ahead of VE Day. Pubs and bars have been granted permission to stay open for longer to mark the anniversary. Above: Barrels of beer are prepared for VE Day celebrations, 1945 Together Coalition, which organises the VE Mail programme, said 1,300 schools and youth organisations had requested a letter from a veteran setting out their wartime experience and what it means to them 80 years later. Children participating in the programme have then written back to the veteran with their own reflections. Together Coalition said on Thursday that participating veterans had started to receive 'mail bags full of responses from schoolchildren' via the Royal Mail who are supporting the initiative. Bombardier Tom Jones, a 103-year-old veteran, said victory in the Second World War 'protected democracy and our country for our whole lifetime'. The veteran, who recently visited the James Brindley School in Manchester, added: 'The victory meant the world to us at the time - but the values are as relevant today as they were then.
Western Telegraph
30-04-2025
- General
- Western Telegraph
RAF veteran, 99, will remember friends ‘who didn't make it' on VE Day
Dennis Bishop, a former leading aircraftsman who saw active service in France, Belgium, Germany and Africa, visited RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Wednesday as it prepares for the VE Day flypast on Monday. Mr Bishop was presented with gifts by the crew of an Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft – one of several contemporary aircraft flying in formation with their Second World War predecessors in the flypast. 99-year-old Second World War RAF veteran Dennis Bishop, centre, accompanied by air crew of an Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft at RAF Brize Norton (Ben Birchall/PA) Speaking at the loading ramp of the aircraft, Mr Bishop told the PA news agency: 'There should be VE Days for other countries, and they should all start getting together and not beating each other, but coming together. 'For me, it's important to remember some of the poor devils who didn't make it like I did, because there are two or three old friends of mine that didn't make it.' Modern RAF aircraft, pilots and crew are preparing at RAF Brize Norton ahead of the VE Day 80 flypast on May 5. Discussing his visit to the RAF base, Mr Bishop, who is 100 in August, said: 'I didn't know this was going to happen, but a very good friend of mine secretly organised it for me. 'I'm absolutely overwhelmed with all of this, because although I'm nearly 100, it's gradually fading away now, but this has brought it all back to me again now.' Dennis Bishop saw active service in France, Belgium, Germany and Africa (Ben Birchall/PA) Nicola Lofthouse, Officer Commanding 99 Squadron, said a 'huge amount of planning' had gone into pulling together all the aircraft. She told the PA news agency: 'There's 27 aircraft that are going to be flying down the Mall on Monday, for example, over Buckingham Palace. 'They form up over the North Sea, and then they fly direct, straight over London, timed to be there. 'So every aircraft must be there within plus or minus five seconds of their timing.' (PA Graphics) Ms Lofthouse said the aircraft would be flying at 270 knots over the Mall, which is about 310 miles an hour. The commander added that VE Day was important to 'remember the sacrifice of those who have gone before us to buy us the freedom that we enjoy today'. Ms Lofthouse added: 'It's also to remember the history and to make sure that we don't repeat some of the mistakes of the past. 'And it means so much to the serving people to feel appreciated by the public, the British public in particular, and the world in fact, who will be watching in terms of the fact that they're away from their families a lot.' Victory in Europe Day, known as VE Day, is celebrated on May 8 each year to mark the day the Allies formally accepted Germany's surrender in 1945.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
RAF veteran, 99, will remember friends ‘who didn't make it' on VE Day
A 99-year-old RAF veteran said he will be remembering friends 'who didn't make it like I did' through the Second World War on VE Day. Dennis Bishop, a former leading aircraftsman who saw active service in France, Belgium, Germany and Africa, visited RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Wednesday as it prepares for the VE Day flypast on Monday. Mr Bishop was presented with gifts by the crew of an Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft – one of several contemporary aircraft flying in formation with their Second World War predecessors in the flypast. Speaking at the loading ramp of the aircraft, Mr Bishop told the PA news agency: 'There should be VE Days for other countries, and they should all start getting together and not beating each other, but coming together. 'For me, it's important to remember some of the poor devils who didn't make it like I did, because there are two or three old friends of mine that didn't make it.' Modern RAF aircraft, pilots and crew are preparing at RAF Brize Norton ahead of the VE Day 80 flypast on May 5. Discussing his visit to the RAF base, Mr Bishop, who is 100 in August, said: 'I didn't know this was going to happen, but a very good friend of mine secretly organised it for me. 'I'm absolutely overwhelmed with all of this, because although I'm nearly 100, it's gradually fading away now, but this has brought it all back to me again now.' Nicola Lofthouse, Officer Commanding 99 Squadron, said a 'huge amount of planning' had gone into pulling together all the aircraft. She told the PA news agency: 'There's 27 aircraft that are going to be flying down the Mall on Monday, for example, over Buckingham Palace. 'They form up over the North Sea, and then they fly direct, straight over London, timed to be there. 'So every aircraft must be there within plus or minus five seconds of their timing.' Ms Lofthouse said the aircraft would be flying at 270 knots over the Mall, which is about 310 miles an hour. The commander added that VE Day was important to 'remember the sacrifice of those who have gone before us to buy us the freedom that we enjoy today'. Ms Lofthouse added: 'It's also to remember the history and to make sure that we don't repeat some of the mistakes of the past. 'And it means so much to the serving people to feel appreciated by the public, the British public in particular, and the world in fact, who will be watching in terms of the fact that they're away from their families a lot.' Victory in Europe Day, known as VE Day, is celebrated on May 8 each year to mark the day the Allies formally accepted Germany's surrender in 1945.
