Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

Alex Baker Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

I am proud to speak in this debate on behalf of the home of the British Army. In Aldershot and Farnborough, VE Day and VJ Day are woven into the very fabric of our community. My words today have been shaped by constituents who have shared with me their memories and specialist knowledge, including Iris Munro, who told me her story as a 16-year-old celebrating VE Day in her home town of Aldershot, and Paul H. Vickers, a military historian who lives in Aldershot and who was a Ministry of Defence librarian for 40 years. I thank them for their help as I try to do the stories from our towns justice.

Aldershot stood at the very centre of the war effort. It was from its barracks and training grounds that thousands of brave men and women were prepared for service across Europe, north Africa and beyond. It was there that troops were forged, not just in skill but in spirit, and it was there that wounded soldiers found safety and solace in the Cambridge and Connaught hospitals.

My constituent Iris Munro, now 96, was the youngest of nine children, and every one of her family played a role—her four brothers fighting across the globe in the European and far eastern theatres, and her father, mother and sisters active on the home front. She vividly remembers the terror of sleeping under the stairs as Aldershot was bombed, and how Lord Haw-Haw singled out the town as he tried to demoralise the population. She also recalls the town’s defiance and spirit of resistance, as she sang “There’ll always be an England” to entertain her neighbours when they sought cover in the dirt-floored underground shelters as the air raid warning sirens wailed overhead.

Aldershot gave the allied campaign strength in its most literal sense, playing a vital role in the preparation for the D-day landings and serving as a hub for Canadian troops, more than 320,000 of whom passed through its gates during the war. Farnborough was the beating heart of Britain’s aeronautical innovation. The Royal Aircraft Establishment based there became a crucible of scientific brilliance. It was in Farnborough that engineers and researchers developed the technologies that gave our pilots superiority in the skies, including radar, advanced aircraft design, and aerodynamics. It was a battle fought not with rifles but with calculations and courage, and it helped tilt the balance in the air towards the allies. Farnborough proved that war could be won not only with force but innovation.

On 8 May, when news of Germany’s surrender reached Aldershot, the town was united in joyful celebration. Fairy lights were hung in a “V for victory” formation on the fronts of homes. A pipe band from a Canadian unit led a spontaneous parade, with hundreds linking arms and singing. Iris remembers singing with friends from her youth club, right at the front of the parade, with her mum proudly waving from the sidelines. In Farnborough, a grand dance took place at the Royal Aircraft Establishment assembly hall. The music did not stop until 3 o’clock in the morning. It was not just a celebration—it was release. A lifetime’s worth of tension and fear was finally let go in laughter, in dance and in community.

Among those joyful scenes, we also have to remember the personal stories. I was honoured to meet Norman “Norrie” Bartlett on Remembrance Day in Yateley last year. He sadly passed away this March. He joined the Navy in 1942, under age at just 16, and suffered the extreme cold and danger of both the Arctic and the Atlantic. I am pleased to say that he was well enough, having seen both D-day landings and the Japanese surrender, to make it to Normandy for the 80th anniversary—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. My apologies for not noticing the time; I was being disturbed by the Whip.