VE Day in Spalding

The VE celebrations in Spalding were reported in the Spalding & District edition of the Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury incorporating the Spalding Guardian  which was published on 11 May 1945. The report reproduced in full for historical accuracy reflects attitudes of the times and contains terms that some may find offensive.

HOW SPALDING RECEIVED THE GREAT NEWS OF THE WAR'S CONCLUSION

 
Thanksgiving and Rejoicing The Order of The Day

 
THE STREETS A RIOTOUS SPECTACLE

THE VICTORY of our armies in Europe. was celebrated in Spalding in a manner well befitting the Metropolis of the Fens" and one in which the townsfolk were able to give thanks to God for the triumph of the Allied cause and to rejoice in any way they chose.

 
The streets provided a riotous spectacle of red, white and blue and there were singularly few buildings in the town that did not boast a flag. Business premises, especially the shops. provided boldly colourful sights, with their gaily bedecked windows, and the Market-place. with its coloured lights and emblems of the Allied nations bravely borne by the early summer breeze. was a scene of rich variety.

 
FIREWORKS IN THE MARKET-PLACE 

An air of expectancy was evident in the atmosphere throughout the whole of Monday afternoon and the good news broadcast in the evening precipitated the commencement of the celebrations. The twilit Market-place was thronged with young people, and fireworks and a small bonfire were ignited with shrieks of unfeigned delight.

 
Street lamps lighted the path of many a merry-maker later in the evening and were gazed  at with happy wonder by the crowds, who saw them alight for the first time for over five long years.

On the morning of VE-Day. itself large numbers of folk, including many from the country, filled the streets and music relayed from loud-speakers the Urban Council's electricity department filled the warm sunlit air.

THE PRIME MINISTERS ANNOUNCEMENT 

From lunch time on Tuesday onwards a large crowd gathered in the Market-place awaiting the announcement made by the Prime Minister, which was relayed through loud-speakers.

 
Everyone appeared to have donned their brightest clothes and the colours red, white and blue were noticeable in articles of personal adornment worn by women. The weather was kind. and as the crowd gathered before the Corn Exchange the town was tilled with strains of music and sections of the crowd sang

 
At the appointed hour, the announcement from the lips of Mr. Churchill was heard and received with a cheers and happy smiles.

UNITED SERVICE
An hour later the Marketplace was the scene of a united religious service, in which representatives of the various de nominations took part and for which hymn accompaniments were played by the Spalding Town Band, augmented by other instrumentalists from the Salvation Army band and the Army Cadet Force.

 
The order of service announced by the Congregational minister (the Rev. H Burn) Responses were led by the Baptist pastor (the Rev. J Scott Thorburn) and Captain Richardson of the Salvation Army, read the lesson.  Prayers were said by the Vicar of St. John's church. Hawthorn Bank, (Canon Lancelot Smith) who also pronounced the Benediction.

 
The clergy and ministers who included the Rev. C. T. Staden, of the Broad-street Methodist church. were accompanied by the chairman (Coun. D. Frost. J.P.) and the vice-chairman (Coun. H. E. Shotliff) of the Spalding Urban Council. A collection was taken for the Continental Churches restoration fund and over £60 was realised.

 
MANY SACRIFICES AHEAD 
The address was given by the Methodist superintendent minister, the Rev. J. E. Cooper. who said that whilst we were celebrating the end of the war In Europe with a pride in the victory and a sense of relief that hostilities were at an end, there could be no unrestrained rejoicing and jubilation, for Japan was still undefeated and, in consequence, many more would be asked of our Armed Forces before the triumph was complete.

 
There were many from the locality who were serving in the Far East, also there were many who mourned the loss of loved ones "and in our rejoicing we shall remember them." said the speaker, adding: "Victory has been purchased at a great price."

Continuing, he said: "A great and evil thing has been over- thrown, something which if it had not been conquered would have changed the face of the whole life of the world for hundreds of years."

 
Fortunately, with God' s help, we had survived and had been given the chance of making a world we had always longed for, prayed for, and worked for, but had never yet been able to achieve.

THANKFUL FOR DELIVERANCE 
Recalling the beginning of war, the minister said that we had entered it, not for our own gain, but tor the oppressed peoples, of Europe, freedom and the common decencies of life. We are thankful for our deliverance." he said.

 
After expressing thanks for the way in which we had been saved from the horrors inflicted by the Germans upon their enemies, Mr. Cooper remarked: "We have passed through great perils. How great we may never know - times when our best friends feared for us. Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain - how thin was the margin between us and defeat? The hand of God has been upon us and our first homage and gratitude was to Him"

  
“We were thankful, also, that Europe was free again, but victory could not restore the loss suffered and the present generation would never recover from the injury it had sustained. There was, however, cause for thanks in that the tyranny had received its fatal blow and never again would the peoples of Europe be brought to bondage."

THE FALLEN 
The minister spoke gratefully of the endeavours of our Armies and our Allies and concluded with a reference to those who had fallen. He said: "We mourn the loss of many gallant young men. The world is poorer through that loss. There is no memorial we can raise to honour them, yet they had honoured us in that they thought us worthy to receive the freedom for which they died. Our truest thanksgiving is that we should be worthy of their trust and build such a world that they did not die in vain."

During the service, which concluded with the singing of the National Anthem, Blake's "Jerusalem" was sung by the Gleed senior boys' school choir. During the afternoon the carillon was played, whilst in the evening the church bells heard.

CHURCH SERVICES 
Denominational services of thanksgiving were held in the churches after tea.

At the parish church, the, special service was conducted by the Vicar of Cowbit (the Rev. J. A. Pilling), who also gave the address.

 
He based remarks on the words - The Lord hath done great things for us already, whereof we rejoice" - and spoke of God's influence upon our nation— His guidance which made victory possible and His miracles which had brought strength to our arms. He recalled how at the beginning of the war the enemy had considered the war the enemy had considered and had thought that its young men would not fight or young men would not fight or would not be able to stand the strain of total war, "but they were wrong God gave us a generation of whom we must be proud, and to whom we must be eternally grateful."  he said.

 
Mr Pilling said that a miracle of God had been worked before our eyes, but he reminded his congregation that the war was not yet over and the enemy in the far East had still to be beaten: there was a  new peace to be won and a new world to be built up, but all these things could be done through God who called us to His service.

The Vicar referred In his sermon to the greatness of allied leaders and the fine example set by the King and Queen example set by the King in the war years and concluded by calling to the people to lay their lives before the Almighty.

The lesson was read by Capt. G H Armstrong and Mr. Haydyn Chester was at the organ. A collection taken for the Red Cross.

At the Crescent Methodist chapel in the evening a united thanksgiving service was conducted by the Rev. J. E. Cooper, assisted by Captain J. R. Richardson, of the Salvation Army, and the Revs. J. Scott Thorburn and C.T. Staden read the lessons.

Mrs. A. Bates was at the organ and hymns were sung. Mr. J. R. Green conducted the choir in the Hallelujah which was finely rendered.

 
The offertory was devoted to restoration of churches and Church life on the Continent of Europe.

 
In his address the Rev. H. Burn, Congregational Pastor, spoke of the great day for which they had gathered together to give thanks to God. The Lord had delivered them from the trials and perils of the great conflict and His work was marvellous in their eyes.  They could hardly realise what such victory meant to them, but they could be thankful that there were some amongst them who saw what great tasks lay ahead

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 It was fine that right had triumphed and wrong had been worsted. There were a great many problems to be solved in Europe and the magnitude of many tasks was now revealing itself.  They could see clearly that the will of the people had stiffened so that they could win a better world. The war had been a people’s war and the speaker could see a people’s determination behind that will to win. A chord of idealism was sounding throughout the country and in this idealism was a great hope for the Gospel. Today they were the conquerors, tomorrow they hoped to be more than conquerors. They could not have won the war without the help and guidance of God and the strength of the Christian Faith. In the pre-war days they had lived by false standards and bogus representations. They should have to be careful not to approach a similar kind of apathy in the years to come. The arch enemies of Christ had reaped their reward. But others who had fought had also reaped their reward, such men as President Roosevelt and countless others who had died before the end had come. 

It had been a mixed lot of men and women who had fought together and prevailed, but they thanked God that these men and women had been made strong by their hatred of evil and tyranny and above all their faith in Christ.

The service concluded with the singing of the National Anthem.

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH 
At St. John's, Hawthorn Bank, the thanksgiving service was conducted by the Vicar (Canon Lancelot Smith).

In his address, the Vicar said that after we had fought, suffered and prayed for five and a half years and, now that victory in Europe had been won, our first thought must be that of thanking God. He went on to say that an excellent example to the nation had been set by the King and Queen and Mr. Churchill and not forgetting all the serving men and those who have given their lives.

 
Canon Smith told the congregation that the time was now ripe to dedicate themselves anew to God, as his servants, and go out and make His influence felt in a world badly tattered by war.

 
The offertory was equally divided between the fund for the restoration of English churches on the Continent and to fund for the Churches Committee for religious work amongst the Forces. Miss Bennett was at the organ.

 
A service was also held at St Paul's church. Fulney, when the Vicar the Rev J.E. Callister officiated and Mrs Callister was at the organ.

VE NIGHT
During the evening large numbers of people congregated in the centre of the town, and in Ayscoughfee gardens, where the Town Band played for old time dancing.

The King’s speech was relayed through the loud speakers and was heard by a large crowd, which at the conclusion sang the National Anthem and cheered vociferously.

At dusk, the coloured lights strung across the Market-place were illuminated and there was dancing in the streets.

The first dance was announced by Regimental Sergeant Major J. Lord and was the “Victory Polka” which he told his listeners he had played many times to his fellow prisoners in a German camp as a means of sustaining their morale.

Bonfires were lit in various parts of the town and effigies of the Nazi leaders were consigned to the flames and fireworks were discharged.

Searchlights played over the town and shop windows, illuminated with red, white and blue bulbs, conspired with the bonfires and other effects to throw a rich glow into the night sky.

YOUNG SIGHTSEERS
Children who for the first time in their young lives were seeing such sights, gazed from their mothers’ arms, or from the height of fathers’ shoulders at something which thrilled and bewildered.

 
Throughout the morning and evening the public houses were kept full and lively, but with the exception of one or two; the majority did not take advantage of the extension of one and a half hours, and closed their doors at about 10.45 a.m.

The jubilant spirits of the crowd began to ebb close upon 1 a.m. when the celebrations for the day were brought to a close “Land of Hope and Glory” was sung, following which the crowd joined hand and voices in “Auld Lang Syne.”

THE FOLLOWING DAY
Great crowds gathered in the Market-place on Wednesday afternoon to see the children’s fancy dress parade, which was marshalled by Coun. W.A. Start.
The children marched round the town centre and also paraded past the Johnson Hospital for the benefit of the patients.

The characters impersonated in the gaily beflagged procession included a number of striking originality, and representatives of many nations, as well as well-known figures in the nursery world, while appropriately there were representatives of Peace and Victory. One small girl carried an empty whisky bottle, bearing the inscription of “Spirit of things to come”.

The procession was led by the 3rd Spalding Boys’ Brigade band under Lieutenant C. Peck, and band leader Sergeant C. Ferguson, and the Town Band was also in attendance. Besides the fancy dress parade youth organisations were represented, they being Scouts, Cubs Girls’ Life Brigade, St.John Ambulance and Nursing Cadets.

The fancy dresses were judged by members of the W.V.S. who were thanked for their service.

Prizewinners were as follows: Tableaux: 1. First Aid, Spalding Nursing Cadets; 2. Britannia, Girls Life Brigade.

Fancy Dress 4 to 7 years: 1. Mermaid, Elizabeth Houldin; 2. Allies, Helen Mary Shearer; 3. Air Mail, Peter James; Highly commended: Victory Bells, Margaret Abrahams; Sailor Boy, John Barrell.

Decorated cycles 4 to 7 years: 1. Britannia, Janet Stance; 2. Victory, Barbara Clarke; 3. United Nations, Douglas White; Highly commended: Warden, Richard Chandler.
Decorated Prams; 1. Jill Thurlby:2. Margaret Johnson; 3. Wendy Coulson. Highly commended: Rosemary Turner and Marjory Cotten.

Fancy Dress. 8 to 16 years: Box of Paints, Pamela Jenkinson; 2. Well done Russia, Dawn Tyrrell; 3. Wounded Soldier and Nurse, Valerie Jackson and Mary Tippel. Highly commended: Golliwog, Francis Hinds; Rule Britannia, Angela Stockdale.

Decorated cycles 8 to 16 years: 1. Ann Hardy; 2. Jean Scotney; 3. Terence Hayes. Highly commended: Alan Thompson.

Decorated Trucks 8 to 16 years: 1. Mobile Selling Centre, William and Pat Andrew; 2. Victory Boys, John Worthington and Raymond Featherstone;3. Salvage, Irene Mablethorpe. Highly commended: Brian Rawling.

All the prizewinners will be given a free ticket to the Odeon Theatre on Saturday afternoon.
Following the judging, the children were entertained at the Corn Exchange, the excellent programme being arranged by Mrs A.L. Parsons, assisted by members of the Townswomen’s Guild. The programme included solos and dances by Miss Day’s Young Ladies, and community singing and games. The elder children meanwhile enjoyed a film show at the Regent through the courtesy of Spalding Picture House Ltd.

JOLLIFICATIONS TILL THE MORNING
In the evening the patients at the Mintling House were entertained by members of the Townswomen’s Guild, Mrs. Roberts, Mr. J.H. Worley and others. The audience of about 200 included children.

Entertainment at the Johnson Hospital was provided by the Choral Society, under Mr. Frank White. Thanks to the singers was expressed by the matron.

A huge crowd gathered in the Market-place to enjoy a varied programme, one of the most popular items of which was a boxing display me members of the Youth Club (organised by Inspector J.E.Sibbald). Girls of the Gleed School trained by Miss Hunter and Miss Swift gave a display of dancing.

Community singing followed led by the Town band, and the Townswomen’s Guild Nigger Minstrel Troupe, with Mr. J Worley as M.C.

At 8.30 the drums of the A.C.F. which played by courtesy of Lieut-Col Scott, beat the Retreat.

In the meantime, a victory whist drive was held in the Corn-exchange, with Mr. V.A. Hancock, assisted by Mr.A.E.Holmes as M.C. The “Mayor” (Coun D Frost) distributed the prizes to Mrs H Clarke, Mrs Stennett, Miss P. Dodd, Mr. H. Tyrell, Mr. W. Kemp., Mr. E. Wilkinson, Mrs. A. Taylor, Mr. A. White, Mrs. L. Healey and Mr. A. White. Minitature drive: Mrs Rhodes, Mrs Hall, Mr. H. Tyrell and Mrs E. Brown.

The news headlines were relayed through loud speakers and afterwards there was dancing.
About 10 pm Coun. Frost went to the microphone and expressed the thanks of the townsfolk to those who had worked to make the celebrations such a success, specially mentioning the secretary (Mr. W. H. Waldock), Mr. F. R. C. Roberts (electricity department) for the continuous programme of music, Mr. S. E. Andrew (the M.C.). The Supt. of police and his force (for their wholehearted co-operation) and the organising committee.

A giant bonfire was lit in the Market-place and there were others in various parts of the town. Fireworks, dancing and revelry continued until 1 am when the crowd dispersed after singing ”Land of Hope and Glory”, “Auld Lang Syne” and the National Anthem.