Earlier this year I went to Bletchley Park, the site of the famous Enigma codebreakers. My Grandad Collinge, died in the 1960s, served at Bletchley as a translator. As I walked round, I was struck by a vision of thousands of people working alongside each other, scurrying around every day, but in secret. Never able to talk, even to each other, about what they did. And it wasn’t just the mathematicians and geniuses; it was the cleaners, the cooks, the runners who made it all work. One of the most important pieces of work that made up the allied victory was built on ordinary people.
During the liberation, my grandad followed the troops, translating Nazi documents – Gestapo records, attack plans – even including a map of his local munitions factory in Blackburn, just down the road from where his wife and children lived. He was simply one of hundreds of thousands of men and women who freed Europe from the terror of the Nazis. Men and women from across the world, working together as one.
This VE Day we remembered the men and women who were involved in the war effort, and it was a real honour to commemorate this occasion alongside veterans in the constituency.
In Morecambe, I attended a flag raising ceremony followed by a reception where I spoke to Richard Brock, who is one of the few WWII veterans still with us. Richard was one of the men who liberated Belsen-Bergen concentration camp and when I first met him last year, it was an honour to be able to pass on my personal thanks from my friend, whose grandma survived Belsen.
In the afternoon, I went to Yealand Village Hall where the primary school had put on an afternoon tea to celebrate VE day. This event was a real treat, and it was lovely to see the community united for this occasion. The children were absolutely delightful, really polite and helpful, and we enjoyed a sing-along of wartime hits.
My day was rounded off by a brilliant brass band concert held at the Platform in Morecambe. The wartime music played was exquisite, and I want to thank Morecambe Town Council for arranging this free concert.
Finally, in the evening I attended the beacon lighting ceremony on the Stone Jetty. This provided some time for personal reflection, on the sacrifices people made, up and down the country. It was their selflessness that changed the course of history in Europe and secured the freedoms we enjoy today, freedoms we must guard carefully.