Celebrate a virtual VE Day in Invererclyde
Inverclyde marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day in style on Friday 8 May. While COVID-19 has put paid to the plans for street parties, Inverclyde Council has created a range of virtual celebrations including: YouTube videos, information packs and an online guide about how to make bunting.
While VE Day is a celebration there will be a two minute’s silence at 11am to honour those whose sacrifice made victory possible. Local residents are asked to mark this on their doorsteps where it’s safe to do so.
Ships across the Clyde will be playing their part, sounding their sirens at 3pm to recreate the scenes when Winston Churchill’s announced that the war in Europe was over. At 9.30pm the vessels will also light up the night sky with their searchlights.
The Watt Institution and the council’s library service have also been getting involved by creating resources packs for local primary schools based on Second World War artefacts held by the museum.
Staff at the Institution are keen to hear feedback about the pack and to receive drawings and stories about VE Day which can be added to the resources that support the museum’s collections. Completed activities can be sent to central.library@inverclyde.gov.uk or #VE75Inverclyde. Work will be showcased on the Watt Institution’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Art work and messages will also be shared on social media using the #VE75Inverclyde hashtag and residents are being encouraged to share photos and memories they may have from their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents or relatives online.
The council has also compiled a wealth of information and photos that will be available online to allow families to learn more about the war, Victory in Europe (VE) Day itself and how people in Inverclyde marked the event 75 years ago.
These include a series of seven photo-montage videos which bring to life a wartime sports day that took place in Gourock, the Greenock Blitz, and a Royal visit complete with images of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The images are courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. Everything is available at: https://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/ve75
Inverclyde’s Provost, Martin Brennan, said, “Inverclyde was a key strategic location during the Second World War. It was home to the Free French Navy. Its shipyards made a vital contribution to the war effort and Greenock was where tens of thousands of Allied soldiers first arrived in Britain before going to fight in other theatres of the war.
“While we celebrate VE Day, locally, we also remember the Greenock Blitz when felt the town the full might of the Luftwaffe, the German airforce. On 6 and 7 May 1941 thousands of local people were killed, injured or made homeless in bombing raids.
“It is with this rich and painful history that we mark VE Day. Seventy five years ago it was a time of celebration but also a time for taking stock. There was a determination that things must change. This spirit saw the creation of the National Health Service. We rely on it today as never before and it is to protect the NHS and save lives that we mark VE Day from our homes instead of on the streets.”
Timetable for Friday 8 May 2020
11am – two minute silence on your doorstep
3pm – Churchill’s speech from 1945 shown on the BBC
3pm – ships in the Clyde sound their sirens, reinacting the events of 1945
4pm – Tea and scones at home or in the garden
9pm – The Queen addresses the nation
9.30pm – Ships in the Clyde light the sky with their searchlights reinacting the events of 1945.