Well done to Astley Community High School student, Hollie who won second prize in the New Hartley VE Day writing competition. Hollie submitted and excellent competition entry and we are really pleased with her achievement. Here is Hollie's piece of writing:
VE Day Writing Competition
By Hollie
VE Day is known to commemorate the victory of the second World War in Europe. Although the war was over, it was not the end of hardship. The war ended on Monday May 7th at 2:41am by German General Jodl signing the unconditional surrender document in Reims, France, which formally ended the war; the first Victory in Europe Day was on May 8th 1945, which officially ended World War II in Europe.This was announced to the public on the radio at 3pm by Winston Churchill that the war had come to end. This was an emotional piece of information for the public to take in, that millions were waiting for; many people were extremely happy with mixed emotions that the fighting had finally stopped. This resulted in big celebrations and many street parties. The crowds that gathered around the streets outside of Buckingham Palace were all dressed in red, white and blue to celebrate the fantastic news!
People were relieved that the intense strain of the total war was over. King George VI and his family came out onto the balcony to greet everyone with the celebration of the war. Millions of people marked VE Day by dancing and singing in the streets with neighbours and friends and families. Lots of other people attended church services to thank God for their victory and for him guiding them to winning the war. VE Day has become an annual celebration that thousands of people celebrate, every year on the 8th May (in America and Western Europe), which is also a day filled with sadness to commemorate the millions of people who had lost their lives fighting for our country; we also remember all of the cities which were destroyed and pray for peace in the future. This was by far the most destructive event in European history; this brought huge suffering and privations to the populations of entire countries. The whole significance of VE Day was that it brought an end to organised violence across the continent, it also marked the liberation of several countries from foreign occupation. In particular, this finally marked the end of totalitarianism but also the beginning of a new era of democracy.