On Friday 8^th May, the whole of Europe had intended to commemorate the end of World War II with VE and VJ Day events.

The events were to mark the 75^th anniversary of the original Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan days, held in May and August 1945. While the planned celebrations are sadly no longer possible, we can all still privately and virtually commemorate the millions who died too soon, and all those whose lives were changed forever by the catastrophic events of the Second World War.

An end to war

On the 8^th & 9^th May 1945, after over five long years of war, the entire population of Europe came together to celebrate the end of the fighting on the continent. Though nations still mourned all those who had died or been injured or traumatised, and continued to wait for the end of the war in the east (where the war with Japan was still continuing), the end of fighting in Europe was a reason to celebrate.

St Neots celebrates

The local newspaper, the ‘St Neots Advertiser’, reported details of the many celebrations that took place in the town and the surrounding villages.  Reports read:

“St Neots received the joyful news of the end of the war against Germany quite calmly, with feelings of thankfulness to God; happiness; relief; pride; humility; gratitude to the gallant men and women who made victory possible; remembrance of those who had given their lives for us in many parts of the world; sympathy for their relatives; and a vivid reminder of the stern fight ahead against the brutal Japanese.”

“An outward sign of rejoicing was a profuse display of flags…Russell Street was a specially high spot. Church bells rang merrily in St Neots, Eynesbury and Eaton Socon”

The re-formed Eynesbury and St Neots Town Silver Prize band paraded the town and played on the Market Square. Church services were held throughout the day and the paper reported “joyous scenes on St Neots Market Square on VE night”. Loud speakers had been installed on the square and dancing to popular tunes continued in to the early hours.

The paper believed that local lady, Miss Dorothy Wrycroft, was chiefly to be thanked for arranging the dancing, along with Maypole dances for children. Victory Day coincided with St Neots May Fair (which opened on Thursday 10^th May), and Thurston’s, the fair owners, allowed the public to use the motor track of one of their large roundabouts for dancing on the Market Square.

At 9pm a hush fell as the “immense crowd” listened to the speech by H.M. King, George VI, which was later printed in local papers. In part of his speech, he spoke for the whole nation when he said:

“Let us remember those who will not come back; their constancy and courage in battle, their sacrifice and endurance in the face of a merciless enemy: let us remember the men in all the services, and the women in all the services, who have laid down their lives. We have come to the end of our tribulations, and they are not with us at the moment of our rejoicing.”  

An end to restrictions

After five long years of night time black-out restrictions, another hugely popular part of the celebrations was the lighting of bonfires, and on many of them, the burning of a hastily created effigy of Hitler. Lights in the darkness must have been a particular pleasure after the black-out, and locally, Little Barford power station was floodlit and could be seen for many miles around. Many other buildings were also floodlit in celebration of the end of the war.

Local celebrations

In the villages around St Neots, each community came together to celebrate. In Eaton Socon, the highlight of VE Day itself was the huge bonfire at the Hillings, where Hitler’s effigy was duly consumed by the flames. Fireworks were let off on the Green, where the dancing continued until 2 a.m.  Another bonfire was lit on the Fair Ground at Eaton Ford, where the large crowd that had gathered witnessed another cremation of Hitler.

Even the Inmates of the St Neots Institution had extra rations, and those who were well enough were allowed to attend local church services and the jollifications.

At Little Barford, the whole village assembled at Little Barford House at 1pm by invitation of Mr W H Alington, where a short address and a toast were made.  After an evening Service of Thanksgiving, a bonfire was lit and a great centre of interest was a life-size, and remarkably life-like, effigy of Hitler found hanging from a tree.

In Great Gransden, the St Neots Advertiser reported that:

“Hundreds of people assembled in the Cricket Field in the afternoon to hear Mr. Churchill’s broadcast of the end of war in Europe…In the evening it was estimated over 1,000 people were on the field where an open-air dance was held.”

In Waresley, the village was gaily decorated, a dance took place on the Tuesday evening, and on the Wednesday tea and sports were held in Mr. A. Minney’s meadow.

Throughout the celebrations there was little rowdy behaviour, although the police were kept busy preventing some celebrations from getting out of hand.

Festivities for children

If Tuesday the 8^th May was a day for adult celebrations, then Wednesday 9^th May was, in many places, given over to parties and sports events for children and young people.  Both women and men put all their energies into entertaining the children and making it a memorable day for them.

In St Neots and Eynesbury, many parties were held in the decorated streets, on the greens, and in halls and barns.  The women organisers of the parties made a wonderfully good job of it at very short notice; not only did they collect money, beg or bake dainty food for sumptuous repasts, cut sandwiches, make jellies, officiate as waiters (in gay hats and costumes), clear away AND do the washing up, but they helped to decorate their children for fancy dress parades. Meanwhile, the men folk gave a willing hand, fixing up tables and, on the Wednesday, arranging sports and games in recreation grounds and fields across the area.

Service men and women return home

In the newspapers, under the heading “News of our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen”, appeared reports of those who were returning home after being held as Prisoners of War.

Perhaps the happiest people in Eaton Socon on VE Day were Mr and Mrs G Eckford.  They had received no news of their son, George, who had been taken prisoner at Tobruk just over three years prior, and had been held in camps in Italy and Germany.  Tuesday 8th May brought the telegram they were waiting for which said that he was ‘safe and well’.  This good news meant that all the Eaton men who were prisoners in Germany were accounted for, some were even home with their families in time for VE Day.  This included Flight Sergeant Aubrey Waters, son of Inspector Waters of St Neots.  His plane had been brought down over Germany on 16th March the previous year; he had baled out safely and landed in a back garden in Stuttgart, where he was captured by the German civil police.  It had been only his third ‘op’ after taking the place of a sick gunner from another crew.  His original crew were shot down some three weeks later.  During his time as a prisoner, he had been in a number of camps, and had suffered close to starvation on the long marches between them.  He later said, however, that boredom had been his greatest enemy.

Also home was Private Horace Coe from Bedford Street.  He had endured three and a half years as a prisoner im Sicily, Italy and Germany, having been captured while serving with the 1st Armoured Division in the African Desert.  His greatest ordeal was having to march 800 miles with few, or no, rations following the D-Day break through.

Petty Officer Graham Ibbs gave his parents a surprise by walking into their home at The Crescent unexpectedly.  In June 1942 he’d been serving with the destroyer Bedouin when it was torpedoed while on convoy escort to Malta.  He was picked up by an Italian Red Cross boat and imprisoned in Italy.  On the capitulation of Italy, Petty Officer Ibbs escaped, and actually reached the Swiss border before being recaptured by German troops.  He was then sent to Bremen where he remained until the camp was liberated by the Allies.

These three reports illustrate just a few of the many stories of hardship being told by the returning Prisoners of War. In marking the 75^th anniversaries of both VE & VJ Days, we recall and commemorate the sacrifices and the hardships experienced by the people of Britain and the global population during the 1939 – 1945 war.

Looking to share your own family memories?

The Museum is still looking for photographs and memories of St Neots and the surrounding villages from 1939 – 45, so if you have any information please do get in touch. We can scan and return photographs, so precious family items do not need to be donated to the museum. As we are currently closed, you can get in touch by emailing us at director@stneotsmuseum.org.uk.

We all know the tale of the Greeks sneaking into Troy in the belly of a giant wooden horse, so we thought we’d share three other surprise attacks from history that you may not have heard of…

Hannibal and his alpine elephants

In 218BC, the Carthaginian army (led by the notorious general Hannibal) made a bold move that no one expected. Driven by his ambition to conquer Rome, Hannibal marched his entire army, including cavalry and WAR ELEPHANTS, through Gaul and across the Alps to strike at Rome from the north. The Romans, having naturally presumed that the Alps were a good enough defence against northern invasions, hadn’t anticipated this and were caught on the back foot.

It wasn’t an easy journey for Hannibal, many of his troops and cavalry perished on the perilous mountain passes, but eventually he made it. Hannibal fought his way down through Italy, ravaging the land and attacking its citizens for a full 15 years, but was ultimately unable to conquer Rome itself. He finally met his match against Roman general Scipio Africanus in 202BC, who put an end to Hannibal’s ruthless campaign.

A decoy rebellion

Staying on the subject of ancient Rome… In 9AD, three entire Roman legions met their end when they were surprised by a ‘barbarian’ army whilst campaigning through Germany. Around 36,000 Roman soldiers were led into an ambush by a Germanic warlord named Arminius, who craftily spread rumours of a fake rebellion in the north-west of the country. Spurred on by the threat, Roman general Publius Quinctilius Varus marched the 17th, 18th and 19th Legions from their camp to Teutoburg Forrest to face the phoney rebellion. BUT the Germanic army was waiting for them on route, ambushing them and slaughtering up to 20,000 Roman troops. It’s said that Emperor Augustus was so enraged by the news that he head-butted the walls of his palace! As for the legions, the 17^th & 19^th were disbanded and never used again.

Harold in a hurry

In 1066AD, it was the turn of Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson to mount a successful surprise attack on a Viking army at Stamford Bridge. Harold’s forces had been positioned in the south ready to repel an expected attack by William of Normandy, but this was about to change. News arrived that 300 Norse ships had landed an army further north, so Harold quickly abandoned his post and raced up to meet them, covering nearly 200 miles in four days! When Harold’s army arrived at the edge of the Viking encampment, the Norse raiders were caught completely unawares. They’d wrongly assumed that Harold’s army would still be miles away and were kicking back before their raids really began. Harold’s army sprang into action, killing thousands of Vikings in the ensuing fight. The few survivors later sailed home aboard just 24 ships of the original 300.

Sadly for Harold, his success wasn’t long lived. Three days later, the army he HAD been expecting finally did show up. Shortly after Harold raced back down to meet the new threat, he was killed in the famous Battle of Hasting, his death now immortalised on the famous Bayeux Tapestry.

They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but legend tells us that it WAS founded on one…

The 21^st April 753 BC was just like any other day (well, we imagine) until two famous brothers had a fall out. The result was the creation of Rome, one of the powerhouses of the ancient world. Though the story of Rome’s origins is rooted in myth, we still acknowledge its foundation on this day. So, to mark its anniversary, here’s the myth of Romulus and Remus, along with a few other city foundation myths from the ancient (and not so ancient) world.

The foundation of Rome – Romulus and Remus

The twin brothers Romulus and Remus, were supposedly the sons of Mars, god of War, and Rhea Silvia, daughter of the king of Alba Longa and a revered ‘Vestal Virgin’ (or priestess, sworn to chastity in honour of the goddess Vesta). Poor Rhea Silvia hadn’t become a Vestal Virgin by choice, but had been forced into it by her uncle Amulius after he deposed her father, killing off his male children in the process.

When Amulius discovered that Rhea Silvia had broken her vow of chastity (though how much say she had in the matter is questionable where Roman gods are concerned), and given birth to two boys, he was understandably cross. He charged his servants to set the boys adrift in a basket on the River Tiber, rather optimistically assuming that would be the end of the matter!

La Lupa

Instead of meeting the watery death intended though, the brothers floated down the river and were discovered by a she-wolf, who suckled the twins, keeping them alive until they were taken in by a shepherd and his wife. The pair grew up, and decided that as a thank you, they’d found a city on the site where the she-wolf discovered them. Nice!

A city is born

However, the nicety of the gesture was short lived. After a quarrel about which hill was best to build the city on, Romulus killed his brother, and founded Rome in his own name to celebrate. Talk about brotherly love. Sadly, Romulus’ dishonourable actions didn’t stop there, in order to populate the city, he stole women from the nearby region of Sabinum – a scene now immortalised in numerous pieces of Renaissance art as ‘The Rape of the Sabines.’

Under his leadership, Rome was to go on to become the dominant power in the region. We’re told that eventually Romulus himself disappeared in mysterious circumstances during a violent thunderstorm. Spooky…

Athens – Athena vs. Poseidon

Athens, the city at the heart of the Greek civilisation was also founded by a contesting pair. Both Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon god of the sea competed for the honour of becoming the patron god of the city, and offered gifts for judgement by its citizens.

First Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and created a spring, offering water to drink and indicating that he could offer great naval power to the city. The inhabitants rushed forward to drink but were shocked to find that it was (naturally) salt water! Athena, on the other hand, offered the first olive tree, a symbol of prosperity and peace, along with the promise of food, oil, and firewood.  The citizens decided that on balance, Athena’s gift was the most promising, and the city has taken her name ever since.

N.B. Depending on the version of the myth that you read, Poseidon proves to be a very sore loser and floods the city in revenge.

Alexandria – Alexander’s dream

After conquering vast swathes of the ancient world, Alexander the Great decided it was about time that he founded his own city to help assert his dominance (and further inflate his ego).

On the advice of his architects, Alexander had already settled on a good spot to build his city, until, during a dream, he saw a vision. An old man with white hair and an esteemed appearance came to him and said: “There is an island in a stormy sea in front of Egypt. They call it Pharos.” *FIN*… Who this man was remains about as unclear as his message. Some say it was the Greek historian Homer (of whom Alexander was a huge fan), but whoever it was, Alexander jumped straight to the conclusion that THIS was where he should build his city.

No chalk, no problem

He travelled to Pharos (an island above the mouth of the Nile in Egypt), and on arrival discovered that it was THE perfect spot. Shortly after, he set to work laying out the outline of the city. Annoyingly, he didn’t have any chalk to hand, and so he used barley instead. As you do.

When he finished, he sat back to admire his work, but suddenly a huge flock of birds flew from the river and ate the whole thing, every last grain. Alexander was understandably pretty miffed about that, but his quick-thinking seers hurriedly advised him that ACTUALLY, this was a good sign. In their view, what it meant that the city he was founding would ‘abound in resources and would sustain men from every nation.’ Alexander shrugged, thought “fair enough”, and a city was born.

Tenochtitlan – An eagle in a (prickly) pear tree

The tribes who were soon to be known as the famous ‘Aztecs’ received some rather peculiar orders from their god Huitzilopochtli, the god of sun and war.  Huitzilopochtli instructed them to abandon their home-land and start a pilgrimage to find a new one, where they would become the most powerful race in Mesoamerica. He told them that they would know once they’d found the place if they spotted an eagle, perched on a prickly pear cactus, oh and it would also be devouring a snake.

The precise spot turned out to be rooted in the heart of rebel god Copil, Huitzilopochtli’s nephew, who had been killed after his latest failed uprising attempt. As further punishment, his heart had been carelessly thrown into the centre of a lake.

The Aztecs located the spot in the centre of Lake Texcoco, and named the city after tetl meaning rock, and nochtli, the prickly-pear cactus.