A Brief Period of Rejoicing
After a conflict of nearly six hard years, the end seemed to catch everyone by surprise. In Hereford, the authorities struggled to make arrangements for the inevitable festivities, as the letters from Hereford city council displayed in this section show. The local press, from The Hereford Bulletin and Citizen to the Hereford Times and Kington Times, revelled in the celebrations and captured the jubilant public mood. Throughout the day, Tony Williams, a local photographer working on behalf of the Bulletin, occupied a range of vantage points from which he recorded the unfolding events for posterity. With great insight and unobtrusive skill, he captured the essence of VE Day so perfectly that the unconfined joy and relief is palpable 75 years on.
We aremost grateful to Dr Maureen Beauchamp, Tony's daughter, for letting us share these wonderful images.
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