World War II heroes are rallying to the call of registering for memorials ahead of VE Day this year, after a passionate appeal by The Royal British Legion.
We revealed yesterday how the Legion wants WW2 veterans from all backgrounds to come forward and take part in the 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict later this year. It is hoped the nation will come together for VE Day (Victory in Europe) on May 8 and VJ Day (Victory over Japan) on August 15, to pay tribute to those who gave so much for the freedoms which endure today in modern Britain.
There could even be a repeat of the 50th anniversary of VE Day celebrations in 1995, with street parties across the country as the 80th anniversary could be one last chance to include veterans who fought between 1939 and 1945, with an estimated 70,000 still alive today in the UK.
Want to register? Go to the Royal British Legion website for more details
Corrie star Antony Cotton, President of the St James branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “These events to mark the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are probably the last chance we will have as a nation to pay tribute to the bravery of our Second World War veterans.
“As the grandson of a WW2 veteran, Oswald Cotton, I’m so proud that the RBL is marking these anniversaries across the UK, so we get the opportunity to thank our Armed Forces veterans, who ensured that we have the freedoms we all enjoy today. I hope as many veterans as possible come forward, so we can share their wartime experiences and make sure that their unique contribution is never forgotten.”
D-Day heroes Bernard Morgan and Jack Mortimer spoke to The Mirror to explain why they are backing the campaign.
Mr Mortimer, 101, who is one of Britain’s oldest veterans says he will try his “absolute hardest” to answer the Royal British Legion’s appeal for heroes to make VE Day celebrations this year. He recalls having a “great big dance” where he was posted in Antwerp in celebration where he’d volunteered a pal to be the pianist.
In revenge he was forced to get up in front of hundreds of colleagues and locals to sing ‘Moonlight becomes you’. Jack told the Mirror: “I shall try my absolute hardest. I might not make it but I shall try to anyway.
“I don’t know because May is a long time off but I’d love to be there. I am a bit housebound at the moment. I’m 101 now. I’m just getting old, that’s all.” Jack was just 20 when he drove onto Sword Beach, in Normandy, on June 6th, 1944, in his jeep as enemy mortar shells exploded around him.
Last summer marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day with members of the Royal Family, politicians, and the public attending major events in Normandy and around the country. There was not a dry eye to be had as the tales of heroism from that fateful day were recounted in France as the world watched on.
Among them was Bernard Morgan who was a codebreaker during the War, and the equipment he used was so sensitive that he couldn’t risk it being captured by the enemy. He landed on Gold Beach at 6.30pm on D-Day becoming the youngest RAF sergeant to land in Normandy during the War.
Bernard told The Mirror: “It’s so important that we make the most of these opportunities to remember what happened, not just to celebrate the achievement, but also to ensure that such horrors never happen again. Two days before VE Day, he received a telex to say, “German war now over, surrender effective sometime tomorrow”.
On May 8 it was confirmed that the war in Europe had ended. Bernard had a big party with his comrades – they lit a huge bonfire and celebrated late into the night. “I was stationed in Schneverdingen in Germany when I got the telex to let me know that the War was ending and that the German surrender was imminent.
“I remember VE Day very well, the drinks just appeared from nowhere and we lit a bonfire and had a big party.” Another D-Day hero is Jim Miller, 100 who served in the 11th Hussars during WWII.
Originally from London but now living in Merthyr Vale, South Wales, Jim was called up to join the armed forces at 19 years old. He failed the hearing test for the air force, so ended up enrolling in the army.
He was drafted into the armoured corps, and became a driver and wireless operator in armoured cars. He arrived in Normandy on D-Day +3 (9th June) when he was 19 years old after arriving in the hold of an American ship.
Jim was based in Berlin during the liberation at the end of the war, which was where he met his wife. He told The Mirror: “I am grateful I am still here to be able to share these memories with the generations that came after me so that we can all continue to appreciate the freedoms that we so hard fought for and to remember those that were lost, civilians, and those that served.”
Candid pictures of Bernard and other WWII veterans like him are currently on show at The D-Day Story museum in Portsmouth which is hosting ‘The lucky ones grow old’ photography exhibition until January 18.
Others have also lent their support to the growing campaign with former Army colonel Lincoln Jopp MC, Tory MP for Spelthorne, is a veteran of the Sierra Leone Civil War – receiving his Military Cross from the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.
He says: “Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all 70,000 of our WW2 veterans still with us registered to take part? Freedom isn’t free and this will be a great chance for us as a nation to say thank you to this special group of veterans for their service and sacrifice.” Hi-De-Hi and Dad’s Army star Jeffrey Holland says: “It seems almost impossible to believe that it was 80 years ago that the Second World War came to an end. I was born in 1946 , just a year after it ended in 1945.
“My own father was wounded and almost left for dead on the beaches in Caen, northern France on June 7th 1944, D-Day + 1. He was just one of the lucky survivors of that terrible time with scars that went with him to his grave, both mental and physical. There are so few of those brave boys left now that it would be wonderful to see them heading a commemoration for those less fortunate.
“I joined the Army Cadets at my school as a tribute to my dad’s service in the army but sadly he passed away before he saw me get my lance-corporal’s stripe. Playing in the cast of “Dad’s Army” many years later and wearing the uniform worn by so many men at that time made me realise that, beneath the up-front comedy of the brilliant writing, lay the serious underlying truth of those mens’ resolve that they would have died before they surrendered to their potential despotic conquerors.
“Let them be there – lest we forget.”
But it is not just D-Day veterans the Royal British Legion want to hear from. Speaking to The Mirror, Philippa Rawlinson, Director of Remembrance at the Royal British Legion, said: “It’s wonderful to have so many of our armed forces veterans coming forward to register.
“We are also really interested in finding out some of the more surprising and perhaps forgotten stories that people are not aware of. So I am thinking back to the story of Marie Scott who was a women’s Royal Naval Service switchboard operator who suddenly realised she was listening to the action unfold live on D-Day back in 1944 from her base back in England.
“So we want to hear more stories from the young women and the people across the Commonwealth who we maybe have not heard so much from in the past because without that combined effort from the greatest possible representation of our armed forces and those who served in reserved occupations like my grandfather who was a firefighter, let’s hear from them too.
“Lets hear from the wealth of people in that whole generation who took part and played their role in ensuring that we have the freedoms that we have today.”
Want to register? Go to the Royal British Legion website for more details