Hearing personal stories about VE Day in 1945 will help us to connect when we are feeling most isolated

Learning about the lives of those who experienced VE Day 75 years ago could provide a sense of togetherness while the nation is in lockdown, writes Sabrina Barr

We should remember not just the events but the people who lived through them (Imperial War Museum/PA)

The 75th anniversary of VE Day should have been an exuberant affair. Crowds would have taken to the streets, waving Union Jack flags as the Red Arrows zoom by. Veterans would have visited the Cenotaph in remembrance of those who died in the Second World War. Pubs would have been packed with revellers, slurring the words to “We’ll Meet Again” until the early hours.

However, the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown that followed put a stopper on the majority of these plans. On a day when the nation should have felt unified, many of us are instead feeling increasingly isolated.

At a time wrought with sadness, loneliness and worry, hearing the stories of those who experienced VE Day in 1945 and connecting on a personal level may help to provide that sense of togetherness that we have been sorely missing as of late. As we remain confined in our households, it is essential to remember not just the series of events that led to VE Day, but the people who were there, living and breathing the historical moment.

Mauren Lightbody was part of the Women’s Royal Naval Service stationed in Bangor. The 94-year-old says that while technological communication at that time was evidently not as advanced as it is today, “everyone could get together and talk, could support one another”. VE Day this year is a “very lonely time” in comparison, she states.

When 84-year-old Steven Frank heard of Nazi Germany’s surrender, he was in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, he and his family “too weak or ill to feel elated”. Reflecting upon the 75 years that have passed since the Second World War, Mr Frank remarks that in his view, the Covid-19 outbreak “has been one of the only times since then that our freedom has been curtailed”.

“And perhaps that makes it the perfect moment to reflect on what living without it could truly mean,” he says.

Yours

Sabrina Barr

Lifestyle writer