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Hundreds march in VE Day 80th anniversary parade

Phil Cunliffe
BBC News, Lancashire
BBC/Phil Cunliffe An older woman, a girl and a younger woman stand together smiling. They all have their hair and make-up done in a 1940s style and are also wearing retro dresses. They are holding VE Day and Union Jack flags. BBC/Phil Cunliffe
Hundreds of people turned out for Lancashire's VE Day celebrations, including three generations of the same family in 1940s dress

Hundreds of people have taken part in a parade in Lancashire to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

The march through the Ribble Valley, led by the Accrington Pipe Band, saw around 500 residents walk from St John's church in Read to the Constitutional Club in Simonstone on Monday.

A service was also held at the church where the national anthem was sung before the names of local soldiers killed during World War Two were read out and a wreath was laid.

Vicar at St John's, Reverend Susan Ball, said: "You can't imagine how much joy there must have been when the war was finally declared 'over'."

"We're catching a little bit of that today," she added.

The occasion commemorates Victory in Europe - the end of nearly six years of war on 8 May 1945 - when Nazi German forces surrendered unconditionally to the Allies in World War Two.

Reverend Claire McEnery, added: "Both my grandparents were in the war.

"One lost his life sadly, and my other was badly injured."

BBC/Phil Cunliffe Two women vicars dressed in white vestments stand smiling in a street. BBC/Phil Cunliffe
Reverend Claire McEnery (left) and Reverend Susan Ball (right) say the event was a time for reflection and celebration

The curate added: "While we celebrate, there is just that tinge of people who would have lost people, but it's lovely that people have come together to recognise how important peace is in the world."

BBC/Phil Cunliffe Ruth Angus wears a red and black jumper and has short grey hair with dark-rimmed glassesBBC/Phil Cunliffe
Ruth Angus says it is important to "remember the sacrifice"

Ruth Angus, who attended the celebrations, said her grandfather Arnold Mashiter had been a gunner in the East Lancashire Regiment, but died in a POW camp in Indonesia at the age of 32.

She said: "My uncle, who was only less than a year old never knew his grandfather.

"It's good to be here to remember the sacrifice he made all those years ago."

Phil Cunliffe/BBC A man wearing a dark green army uniform and hat stands smiling in front of a camouflage coloured vehicle. Phil Cunliffe/BBC
Steve Neary organised the parade, as residents celebrated 80 years since the end of World War Two in Europe
BBC/Phil Cunliffe Silhouettes of soldiers stand on Read Cricket Club - they are metal statues wearing poppiesBBC/Phil Cunliffe
Soldier silhouettes at Read Cricket Club

Resident Paul Howarth said the parade had also been a great community event, and a chance to catch up with people he had not seen for years.

He added: "Why can't we do it every year?"

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