VE Day Archives - The History Press

Reflections of War

Cynthia Hamilton — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 04:02:09 +0000

In his capacity as an antique dealer, Peter Deleuran discovered a forgotten archive of WW2 glass negatives with their original press sleeves. Since acquiring them, he has been committed to their careful restoration, while also excavating the human stories behind them. This stunning book is the result, unveiling 150 rare images and compelling background narratives across a variety of themes, from the early days of war through battles and frontlines, in hospitals and rescue operations, technology and warfare, to the home front, resistance and liberation, the end of war, its aftermath and remembrance. Each story is anchored by original press negatives and meticulously researched to reveal engaging chronicles, many untold for 75 years. This collection captures moments of loss and survival that resonate with hope and resilience amidst the backdrop of one of history’s most horrific periods, poignantly illuminating the experiences of those who lived through the Second World War.

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An End of War

Simon Appleby — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:09:39 +0000

After D-Day in 1944 many British troops believed the war would be over by Christmas. The German Army in Normandy had been destroyed, but by Christmas the Allies were still fighting through Holland, whilst the Germans had reorganised and were fighting back. Ken Tout, using his own experiences on the frontline and interviews with many veterans, recounts how the last gasps of the German Army saw some of the fiercest and most fanatical fighting of the whole war. Major offensives include Hitler’s last desperate attempt to reverse the tide of war in the Battle of the Bulge and the Western Allies’ epic struggle to cross the Rhine. Also explored are the lesser known, but no less important, battles for the Hochwald and Reichwald, and the extraordinary journey of the Polish 1st Armoured Division from defeat and exile to final victory. This last year of war is filled with stories from the tragedy of whole groups of men being frozen to death in battle areas to the triumph of logistics, ingenuity and bravery. Soldiers, who had lived for so long under the horrors of war that as they neared the end their desperate desire to survive grew ever stronger, speak of how these last battles took their toll on a wearied army. Fighting continued up to VE Day in May and some units were in action for days longer as confusion reigned about the enemy surrender. Even after the fighting had finished, the war was not over for these men who had to round up and guard German prisoners of war, and watch over thousands of displaced people. As our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan remind us today, war does not necessarily end when a ceasefire is declared.

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Victory 1945 in Photographs

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 04:02:07 +0000

The end of the Second World War – after six years of horror – was met with a frenzy of celebration and euphoria. But in that end was a beginning; a chance to rebuild Britain and its people, and to shape it into the country we know today. With over 100 images from Mirrorpix, one of the world’s biggest photo libraries, Victory 1945 takes a step back in time to the end of the war, alongside the people who experienced it.

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1945

Simon Appleby — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:03:22 +0000

1945 is a fresh look at the last year of the Second World War. Evoking the disorienting strangeness of the end and aftermath of war, it narrates the lives of fifty protagonists caught in the ruins of warfare. The effect is a dazzling kaleidoscope, showing how events affected a wide variety of individuals. From world leaders, artists, writers and musicians to housewives, servicemen and women, concentration camp victims and children, we trace their stories throughout a momentous twelve months. It is a gripping documentary as six years of relentless attrition finally began to come to an end.

Written in a fast-moving, impressionistic style, the result is a powerfully evocative and often surprising account, showing how chance and fortune impacted on different people at different times. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in history or military history throughout the world and surprise many with its fascinating juxtapositions of places and people.

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The Day Peace Broke Out

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 04:01:23 +0000

At 3 p.m. on 8 May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a long-awaited speech in which he officially declared the war in Europe to be over. After six bitter years of conflict, however, perceptions of how victory over Nazism was to be celebrated and what post-war Britain should look like were very different from the visions of the people and the politicians in 1939. Illustrated with photographs, adverts, posters and cartoons, The Day the Peace Broke Out describes the VE-Day celebrations in Britain and across the world through the memories of those who were there, combined with contemporary newspaper and magazine articles.

Mike Brown, an authority on the British Home Front of the Second World War, charts the nation’s progressive change of heart from defeatism to growing confidence of certain victory. He looks at the immediate post-VE-Day period and the celebration of victory over Japan in August 1945. What should have been a story with a happy ending concludes with the harsh realisation of post-war austerity and the increasing disillusionment that led many Britons to conclude that they had won the war but lost the peace.

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Mabel’s War

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 04:13:42 +0000

With devastating clarity and gentle humour, Mabel Hewitt takes us through her extraordinary life, from her childhood in the shadow of the First World War right up to the present day. Born in the tumultuous thirties, when the threat of the poorhouse hung over working families, she was just 10 years old when war clouds began to gather across Europe. She remembers air-raid sirens, taking shelter underground with her mother and sisters, and the utterly terrifying Coventry Blitz, when almost two-thirds of the city was destroyed or damaged.

And yet, despite everything, her spirit shines through. Mabel’s War is a poignant account of love and hope during some of the country’s darkest days.

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Memories of a Wartime Childhood in London

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 04:02:39 +0000

In this vivid memoir, Douglas Model tells the incredible true story of his wartime childhood in Wembley amidst the horrors of the Blitz. Contrasting his peaceful infant life – which included a hiking holiday to Nazi Germany in 1934 – with the terrors of war, Douglas remembers his schooling, friendships and childhood mischief alongside the everyday realities of bombing raids, gas masks and rationing.

Memories of a Wartime Childhood in London provides an invaluable account of significant wartime events through the eyes of a child, including the fall of France, the Dunkirk evacuation, the horrifying discoveries of Nazi concentration camps and, at long last, the sweetness of Allied victory.

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Under Fire

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 04:01:19 +0000

During the Second World War all British citizens were called upon to do their part for their country. Despite facing the discriminatory ‘colour bar’, many black civilians were determined to contribute to the war effort where they could, volunteering as air-raid wardens, fire-fighters, stretcher-bearers and first-aiders. Meanwhile, black servicemen and women, many of them volunteers from places as far away as Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana and Nigeria, risked their lives fighting for the Mother Country in the air, at sea and on land.
In Under Fire, Stephen Bourne draws on first-hand testimonies to tell the whole story of Britain’s black community during the Second World War, shedding light on a wealth of experiences from evacuees to entertainers, government officials, prisoners of war and community leaders. Among those remembered are men and women whose stories have only recently come to light, making Under Fire the definitive account of the bravery and sacrifices of black Britons in wartime.

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VE Day

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 04:01:39 +0000

This inspiring book draws from first-hand interviews, diaries and memoirs of those involved in the VE Day celebrations in 1945. It paints an enthralling picture of a day that marked the end of the war in Europe and the beginning of a new era. VE Day affected millions of people in countless ways. This book records a sample of those views, from both Britain and abroad, from civilians and service men and women, from the famous and the not-so-famous, in order to provide a moving story and a valuable social picture of the times. Mixed with humour as well as tragedy, rejoicing as well as sadness, regrets of the past and hopes for the future, VE Day: the People’s Story is an inspiring record of one of the great turning points in history.

Drawing from first-hand interviews, diaries and memoirs of those involved in the VE Day celebrations in 1945, VE DAY: The People’s Story paints an enthralling picture of a day that marked the end of the war in Europe and the beginning of a new era. VE Day affected millions of people in countless ways, and the voices in this book – from both Britain and abroad, from civilians and service men and women, from the famous and the not-so-famous – provide a valuable social picture of the times. Mixed with humour as well as tragedy, rejoicing as well as sadness, regrets of the past and hopes for the future, VE Day is an inspiring record of one of the great turning points in history.
Drawing from first-hand interviews, diaries and memoirs of those involved in the VE Day celebrations in 1945, VE Day: The People’s Story paints an enthralling picture of a day that marked the end of the war in Europe and the beginning of a new era. VE Day affected millions of people in countless ways, and the voices in this book – from both Britain and abroad, from civilians and service men and women, from the famous and the not-so-famous – provide a valuable social picture of the times. Mixed with humour as well as tragedy, rejoicing as well as sadness, regrets of the past and hopes for the future, VE Day is an inspiring record of one of the great turning points in history.

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Lumberjills

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 04:02:15 +0000

When war was declared in 1939, Britain was almost completely dependent on imported timber – but only had seven months of it stockpiled. Timber was critical to the war effort: it was needed for everything from aircraft and shipbuilding to communications and coal mining. The British timber trade was in trouble. Enter the Lumberjills. Lacking in both men and timber, the government made a choice. Reluctantly, they opened lumber work for women to apply – and apply they did. The Women’s Timber Corps had thousands of members who would prove themselves as strong and as smart as any man: they felled and crosscut trees by hand, operated sawmills, and ran whole forestry sites. They may not have been on the front line, but they fought their own battles on the home front for respect and equality. And in the midst of heavy labour and wartime, they lived a life, making firm friends and even finding soulmates. In Lumberjills, researcher Joanna Foat tells their story for the first time, and gives them the recognition they so truly deserve.

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