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Cliff Buddle

The commemorations around the world marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe have involved a complex mix of celebration and remembrance. They have, depending on the time and place, been patriotic, even nationalistic, but also moving, poignant and uplifting.
As today’s conflicts continue to take a terrible toll, causing death, displacement and destruction, it is important to reflect on the horror of war and to renew a commitment to peace.
Last week’s Victory in Europe Day celebrated the defeat of the genocidal Nazi regime by Allied forces in Europe between 1939 and May 1945.
In Asia and the Pacific, of course, the conflict began earlier and ended later. Events marking the victory over Japan are, therefore, still to come.
Here in the UK, VE celebrations were numerous and widespread, lasting four days.
They began with a military parade in central London. The presence of 11 Ukrainian soldiers provided a timely reminder that the world has not vanquished war.
Members of the royal family made their customary appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where they joined the crowds in watching a fly-past featuring aircraft from the war era.

Wreaths were laid at the cenotaph and, on May 8, VE Day itself, a service of remembrance was held at Westminster Abbey. Artefacts from the war, including the battered helmet of an air-raid warden and a child’s gas mask, were displayed during the service.
That evening, an open-air concert culminated with Vera Lynn’s enduring wartime song “We’ll meet again”. There were tea parties for war veterans and street parties across the country.
This was a war that had an impact on everyone. In the small village in Kent where I live, a beacon was lit and the Last Post sounded on VE Day’s moonlit night. Today, wartime songs will be sung at the village hall.
The war memorial records that 13 members of the armed forces from the village lost their lives in the conflict. Five civilians were killed by Hitler’s “flying bombs”. Eighteen of them fell in the parish.
Many of the activities marking VE Day drew on the recollections of those who were there in 1945. My father, who was six, remembers the celebratory letting off of flares. He attended a street party where people brought out food that had rarely been seen during the war, including chocolate, and recalled the strong sense of relief that the bombs would no longer fall.
Many remembered the rejoicing that followed the news the war was over. The late Queen Elizabeth, then 19, famously – and anonymously – joined the throng in London, dancing and singing until the early hours.
But the celebrations were necessarily combined with great sadness and regret. The war against Japan had not ended. And many families were mourning loved ones who would never return.
The number of war veterans is dwindling. Most are now over 100. Their stories, whether sad, harrowing, humorous or inspiring, must be preserved long after they have gone.

There has, inevitably, been a wearying clash of narratives about the war as governments seek to use the commemoration for their own, contemporary, objectives.
But the only narrative that really matters is that war is abhorrent and every effort must be made to avoid it so that people, wherever they may be, can lead their lives freely and in safety.
King Charles called for a renewed global commitment to restoring a just peace where there is war and to diplomacy to prevent further conflicts. He referred to Winston Churchill’s famous quote: “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.”
The wartime leader’s great-great-grandson, Alexander, who is 10, put it succinctly at the remembrance service, with a prayer for the “sacrifice of those who have gone before us to be honoured in the defence of liberty, justice and peace”.
It was a prayer “for peace in Europe and across the world in our time and for generations to come”. We live in hope more than expectation.


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War and conflict

The world lives more in hope than expectation of a time without war

A large crowd attends the “VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember” concert concluding  commemorations for the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day in London on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Planes fly in formation in London on Monda as part of celebrations to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. Photo: Xinhua

World War II veteran Colin Deverell, 101, is seen in Downing Street, London, for a street party to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on Monday. Pool photo: EPA-EFE

UK begins VE Day celebrations to mark 80 years since end of World War II

The Red Arrows the Royal Airforce display team, fly over the Mall and Buckingham Palace. Photo: AP

Britain’s royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Photo: Reuters

Members of the UK armed forces parade down the Mall. Photo: AFP

People watch the parade in London. Photo: Reuters

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer host a street party outside 10 Downing Street. Photo: AFP

Europe’s leaders call for Ukraine ceasefire in unprecedented Kyiv visit

(right to left) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk visit Maidan Square on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Anastasia Alekseieva, 31, inspects a wound on her son Vladyslav Alekseiev, 11, after they were injured in a Russian missile attack, at the children’s hospital in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 8. Photo: AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they watch the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, on Friday. Photo: AP

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman, head of the United Russia party and former president Dmitry Medvedev attends the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, on Friday. Photo: AP

Opinion

Amid commemorations on the anniversary of VE Day, it was important to reflect on the horror of conflict and renew a commitment to peace


Amid commemorations on the anniversary of VE Day, it was important to reflect on the horror of conflict and renew a commitment to peace.


Britain

Ukraine war

Diplomacy

Israel-Gaza war

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

My Take

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}My Take | The world lives more in hope than expectation of a time without war

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Amid commemorations on the anniversary of VE Day, it was important to reflect on the horror of conflict and renew a commitment to peace

My Take | The world lives more in hope than expectation of a time without war

Amid commemorations on the anniversary of VE Day, it was important to reflect on the horror of conflict and renew a commitment to peace