VE day and national thanksgiving in 1945

After Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) on 8 May 1945, thanksgiving services were held in churches throughout Britain and overseas. Philip Williamson, Professor of Modern History, reveals the meticulous planning that went on behind the scenes. Organising VE Day celebrations Photographs and newsreels of the day show a great outburst of spontaneous celebrations. But these could not take place without careful plans. Six months earlier, committees of civil servants and government ministers had begun detailed preparations for press announcements, broadcasts, ceremonies and suspensions of military action and war production. As well as public holidays on VE Day (a Tuesday) and the following day, religious thanksgivings were regarded as integral to the celebrations. Religious thanksgivings Both houses of parliament had special thanksgiving services on VE Day itself.