VE Day, 8 May 1945

At 3pm on Tuesday 8 May 1945, an enormous crowd gathered in High Town, Hereford to listen to an amplified broadcast from London. It was an experience, repeated throughout the country, that fulfilled a collective need to share a momentous event, casting aside six years of fear and uncertainty in a spirit of togetherness. Winston Churchill's address proclaiming the end of war in Europe unleashed a joyous period of celebration in Herefordshire, where so much had been done to help reach that goal.

This collection of photographs and documents from the holdings of Herefordshire Archive Service and Herefordshire Libraries, gives a flavour of VE Day as it was experienced in the county. Exhilaration, pride and grief are among the varied emotions that they represent but there is also a clear sense of a need for normal life to return. As one of the newspaper accounts has it - this is what we were fighting for.

The exhibition is arranged in a series of sub collections which you can click through. Some are arranged as books, which allow you to turn the pages virtually.

We would be delighted to include copies of your VE Day memorabilia. If you would like to contribute an item to this collection, you can use our form here.

Individuals are permitted to use, download, transmit, or print images for private, research, or educational purposes, but not for any commercial purpose without further permission from Herefordshire History and/or the original copyright holder/s. For reproduction queries please use our contact form.