Veterans join countdown to VE Day anniversary with full-size Spitfire replica

An anniversary concert on May 8 will celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day with music and personal memories.

Veterans joined armed forces charity SSAFA to mark 80 days until the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a full-size Spitfire replica outside Royal Albert Hall (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Veterans joined an armed forces charity as it launched a countdown to the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a full-size Spitfire replica outside the Royal Albert Hall.

VE Day, short for Victory in Europe Day, is celebrated every year on May 8 to mark the day the Allies formally accepted Germany’s surrender in 1945.

This year’s landmark anniversary will be celebrated on the Royal Albert Hall stage with personal accounts of the Second World War and performances from around 100 musicians.

The 80th Anniversary of VE Day — Doreen Simson, Ruth Barnwell and Henry Rice were joined by Traitors winner Harry Clark and members of the Squadronaires and D-Day Darlings to mark 80 days until a concert at the Royal Albert Hall to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Jonathan Brady/PA)

With 80 days to go, armed forces charity SSAFA launched a countdown to the event, with 100-year-old Royal Navy Wren Ruth Barnwell, from London, and 98-year-old Normandy veteran Henry Rice, from Surrey, posing alongside a full-size Spitfire replica outside the famous venue.

They were joined by 87-year-old Doreen Simson, from Sussex, who was evacuated from her home in White City, west London, at the age of four and separated from her brother when they arrived in Wales, where she was taken in by a lady called Mrs Sharpe.

“Thinking about my evacuation sometimes brings tears to my eyes, but as I wrote on Mrs Sharpe’s funeral flowers, if it hadn’t been for the war I wouldn’t have had a second family,” she said.

Also at the launch was Harry Clark, who was serving with the 47 Regiment Royal Artillery when he won the second series of the BBC’s The Traitors.

The May 8 concert will include performances by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and The RAF Squadronaires, part of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.

Henry Rice, 98, a Normandy veteran who served aboard HMS Eastway on VE Day, reacts to receiving a kiss from D-Day Darlings lead singer Katie Ashby during a photocall with a full-size replica Spitfire outside the Royal Albert Hall, London — Henry Rice, 98, who served aboard HMS Eastway on VE Day, reacts to receiving a kiss from D-Day Darlings lead singer Katie Ashby (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Lady Walmsley, national vice chairwoman at SSAFA, said: “Each anniversary of VE Day serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the armed forces to ensure our safety and freedom.

“Eighty years on, there are few who will remember VE Day first hand.

“This makes it even more important to celebrate veterans of the Second World War, publicly recognising the significance of what they achieved.”