Mansfield and Ashfield VE Day memories

VE day was a huge deal in 1945 and was declared a national holiday with Winston Churchill ensuring the country had enough beer and food to celebrate.

His famous speech said: “This is not victory of a party or of any class. It's a victory of the great British nation as a whole.”

It was the end of the fighting and fear, and the news that the country could start to rebuild its economy after years of rationing and destruction.

It was an incredible occasion but also tinged with sadness for the families of more than 450,000 people who lost their lives in the conflict.

This year marks 75 years since that day, and parties had been planned across the country for the special anniversary - until lockdown forced them to be cancelled or postponed.

Mansfield and Ashfield residents are now holding a series of virtual events to mark the historic occasion, with red, white and blue bunting, socially-distant street parties and singalongs set to take place this Friday.

More information on how you can get involved can be found here.

We would like to look back on some memories of the original VE day in 1945 with a couple of pictures we have managed to source from our readers of celebrations in Mansfield and Ashfield all those years ago.