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Friday, May 8, 2020

VE DAY MEMORIES


In a May 1945 letter written to his brother in Australia by my father William ("Bill") Johanson, who was in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War (Sergeant Instrument Repairer on planes, stationed in the U.K.), he said: "I didn't do much celebrating on VE Day. I was at a training camp for a Central Trade Test Board on that day, although naturally it was cancelled until the next day. I passed the Board and am now Group I, which means quarter of a sterling extra per day. I passed through London to and from where I had the Board and everyone was celebrating in a big way with flags flying everywhere, and huge crowds all over the place, but of course they deserved a celebration!"

I have the original of this letter - what a treasure!




2 comments:

  1. My parents went up to Piccadilly Circus on VE Day to celebrate and decided now was a good time to start a family. I was born ten months later. And so were lots of other babies!

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    1. How romantic, Lesley! My parents had a similar story, except they didn't wait for VE Day. They met and married two years earlier and nine months later I was born! Like your parents, they couldn't waste time during those uncertain days.

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