'Our war heroes were forgotten once... but never again'

It’s strange how some things get missed in the chatter of daily life, isn’t it?

In the current age of competitive, first-to-air, 24/7, ultra-high-definition, live reporting of events unfolding, do we sometimes miss the opportunity to stand back, reflect and then consider properly those events and their ramifications?

On May 8 this year, the 75th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day took place. Around the world, leaders from all sides of the global conflict that was World War Two marked the sacrifices of their respective countrymen and women, paused in reflection, showed respect and then continued to wrestle with the worst effects and pressures of Covid-19.

You might say they went back to war... a clinical and now increasingly political war.

I was on air on VE Day 75, presenting the Drive Show. In advance I had recorded a conversation with a 94-year-old gentleman who, in 1945, was a 19-year-old, standing at the wheel of an Allied Forces destroyer on active service in the Indian Ocean.

When I asked him what he recalled about VE Day, he said it simply meant a doubling of the daily ration of rum for his crew, before returning to the routine of the duty.

Geoff’s war came to an end only after America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, devastating both cities and forcing Japan to surrender. That was 75 years ago last weekend.

Speak to forces’ personnel about their experiences and they often light up recalling the camaraderie, the patriotism or the excitement and fear of war.

I have also witnessed the clouding over in their faces as they recall fallen comrades, the loss of youth and the theft of personal peace. For some, the memories trigger tears and perhaps rage at the futility of war.

It has occasionally left me feeling as though I’m intruding in personal history, dredging up painful memories.

It might have been the case earlier this year. The 19-year-old boy who lived to speak to me as a 94-year-old care home resident recalled his return to the UK after VJ Day... August 15, 1945.

Instead of throngs of people on the docksides, the street parties and the celebrations of the end of war, there was, he said, nothing. Nobody welcomed the forgotten army, navy and air force personnel of World War Two from the East because an almost bankrupt nation had moved on, beginning the process of reconciliation and rebuilding.

For that 19-year-old naval rating, there was only the return to a shattered country, and eventual demob.

They must not be forgotten again.

Remembrance Sunday provides an annual reminder, of course, but VJ Day 75 should be marked as prominently as VE Day 75 was. If it isn’t, we will have failed again those personnel who remain and their actions. And that would be unforgiveable.

A fortnight ago, and with the support of the Lord Lieutenant, a small group of Northamptonshire businesspeople gathered to film a short tribute medley of wartime songs made classic by the people who first sang them, including Forces’ Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn, who died at the age of 103 last month.

Kevin Rogers, from Wilson Browne Solicitors; Hannah Brady, from The Brady Creative; plus Ben Thomas and his videography crew, from All Things Management, and I spent a day in the sun at Rockingham Castle.

The medley is also raising funds for Help for Heroes. You can see our performances at www.JustGiving.com – search for ‘WW2Medley’.

They are forgotten no longer – we celebrate their return home.

With gratitude.