2010 is the 65th anniversary

VE Day marks a very important event in World War 2 - the end of the War with Germany on Tuesday 8 May 1945. For almost six years from 1939 to 1945 Britain fought the toughest war it had ever experienced. Six years of bloodshed that had killed approximately 382,700 members of the British Armed forces and 67,100 civilians were over.

For days people had been anticipating the news of the German surrender. They knew it was on the cards and had begun decorating their gardens with red, white and blue bunting and Union Jack flags.

Finally, in a school house in Rhins, Germany's unconditional surrender was signed at 2:41pm on 7 May. (Active operations by the German forces would cease by 11.01pm 8 May.) Church bells across the country pealed. A sea of red, white and blue erupted

At 3pm on 8 May, Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, made a radio broadcast announcing that war in Europe was finally at an end. He made the broadcast from the War Cabinet Office, the same room that in 1939 Neville Chamberlain had made a speech announcing that the country was at war.

Shortly after Churchill's speech King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and the two princesses came out onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace to acknowledge the huge crowd below.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill joins Royal Family 1945 on the balcony
at Buckingham Palace on VE Day, end of WW2 in Europe

Street parties were held all over Britain to celebrate the end of the war. The photo below shows my mother, Jean Corri, enjoying a street party in Tooting. Notice the dining room chairs and tables.

For more about the rest of World War 2, click here

Find out more about VE Day

Guardian newspaper - photo gallery