VE Day events honour last generation of WW2 veterans

Royals, politicians and veterans have commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe - on what could be the last major VE Day attended by veterans.

The King and the Prince of Wales attended a Service of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, before leading a two-minute silence that was observed across the UK.

Then as night fell over London, VE Day celebrations continued with a concert at Horse Guards Parade attended by 10,000 people.

There the King called for a global commitment to restoring peace, as he paid tribute to service and sacrifice of the wartime generation.

The event, presented by Zoe Ball, featured performances by artists including Fleur East, Calum Scott and The Darkness, as well as storytelling and tributes to veterans.

Eighty years to the hour since his grandfather, King George VI, announced that war had passed, the King said that veterans' debt "can never truly be repaid".

But he reminded all that as the wartime generation diminishes, the duty falls on the public to carry their stories forward - just as communities across the country have done all week in countless acts of remembrance.

The King also said that while we rejoice, "we must also remember those" who are "still fighting, still living with conflict and starvation on the other side of the world".

He called on Britons to "re-dedicate" themselves "not only to the cause of freedom", but to "renewing global commitments to restoring a just peace where there is war, to diplomacy, and to the prevention of conflict."

Earlier in the day, MPs and peers re-enacted a historic walk from Parliament to the abbey that had taken place when victory in Europe was declared in 1945.

After the laying of wreaths and a welcome, an excerpt of Winston Churchill's speech announcing the unconditional surrender of Germany rang throughout the abbey.

The former prime minister's great-great-grandson, Alexander Churchill, 10, lit a candle for peace and invited people to "pray for peace in Europe and around the world".

Children handed veterans white roses, while service members carried conflict artefacts, including a child's gas mask.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivered a reading from the Bible, while others read memoirs and re-dedications to peace.

In a message to the crowd, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell thanked those "whose sacrifice made our victory possible".

"All this good is under threat again in our world today," he said. "Let us then, on this 80th anniversary, with some of the veterans who fought for those freedoms with us here, make a new commitment to be those who, in the words of Jesus, make peace."

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After the service, royals greeted and chatted to World War Two veterans, some of whom were in wheelchairs and decorated with medals.

Among the guests was Harry Winter, a 103-year-old RAF veteran.

He told the BBC he was shot down over Germany in January 1945 and held as a prisoner of war until VE Day five months later. While in captivity, he had to walk 150 miles in 17 days without any food, pushing cattle trucks in extremely cold temperatures, he said.

On 8 May 1945, he was met by American trucks and crossed out of Germany.

"I just felt, 'I'm free! I can do as I like again! I can go around without anybody trying to hold me back'," he said.

Speaking outside Westminster Abbey, D-Day veteran Peter Kent said it meant "a lot" to see people still honouring those who served.

The 100-year-old, from Westminster, served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Adventurer and took part in the Normandy landings.

The father-of-two said: "So many young boys got killed, so many dead bodies on the beach - it was just a big waste of life. It was terrible.

We wouldn't have the freedom we have today if it wasn't for those men."

At 18:30 BST, churches and cathedrals across the country rang their bells, which the Church of England said echoed the sounds that swept across the country in 1945.

In Scotland, the national piper played a lament at dawn for the fallen on Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, and a convoy of Norwegian fishing boats were travelling to Shetland to commemorate the "Shetland Bus" operation that rescued many refugees during the war.

Northern Ireland marked VE Day with a series of events, including a tea dance at Belfast City Hall.

In Wales, attendees at church services observed silence and laid wreaths, and a knitted poppy cascade of 1,000 individual flowers was displayed outside the veterans' hub in Connah's Quay.

The Royal British Legion hosted a tea party with veterans at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, England.

Celebrations are likely to continue until late into the night, with pubs and bars given permission to stay open for two extra hours.

The 80th anniversary celebrations of VE day began on Monday with a military procession and Red Arrows flypast, with thousands lining the Mall near Buckingham Palace to watch.

An exhibit of nearly 30,000 ceramic poppies also returned to the Tower of London.

Additional reporting by Rachel Hagan, Sean Coughlin, Ashitha Nagesh and Gabriela Pomeroy