80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan

Lord Davies of Brixton Excerpts

Friday 9th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)]

It is right that we undertake this debate to pay tribute to those who defended our freedoms in the First and Second World Wars. We must remember and honour them, and use this day to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and, shortly, on 14 August, VJ Day. We have heard some magnificent speeches, all of which have been of a high quality. Many consisted of people relaying their personal experiences, many of which have been moving.

I was there. I was less than a year old at the time, and not aware of it. Subsequently, my parents never really talked about the war. That is the experience of a number of noble Lords.

The point I want to make in the context of this debate, which has already been made by my noble friends Lady Warwick of Undercliffe and Lord Anderson of Swansea, is that this was a total war: everyone was involved. Total war refers to a type of warfare in which a country mobilises all its resources—economic, industrial, civilian and military—to defeat an enemy. In total war, the distinction between civilian and military targets is blurred and the entire society is involved in the war effort. In World War II, the concept of total war was fully realised in the United Kingdom; there was a mobilisation of the entire population in the war effort.

This is not to downplay the exceptional bravery of those at the military front line but, in the Second World War, all of us were on the front line, in a real sense, on the home front. Here in the United Kingdom, we conscripted millions of soldiers but also mobilised civilians to work in factories, grow food and support the effort. I thank my noble friend for mentioning the Bevin Boys, conscripted to work in the mines, and the women directed to work in the Women’s Land Army.

We must also remember that civilians were targeted and that cities were bombed deliberately to destroy morale and infrastructure. I am not seeking here to express any judgment, but in the war there was the bombing of London—the Blitz—but also of Dresden and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The point I make is that, in that war, we were all on the front line. As a trivial example, I cannot forget that, shortly after I was born, we were under attack from V1 and V2 rockets. I was evacuated with my mother to Wales, out of their reach.

The third aspect of total war was industrial and economic control. Governments took control of production. For example, here in Britain, we introduced widespread rationing of food and goods. Total war in World War II meant that every aspect of society was directed towards achieving victory, no matter the cost. Everyone was fighting; those in the forces and those on the home front were fighting for victory.

We achieved victory. The biggest achievement in western Europe has been the absence of any significant war in western Europe in the last 80 years, compared to the 80 years before that when there were at least six major wars. This was a massive change and a victory for the settlement that was reached after the Second World War.