by Brent Eades
Towns and cities across Canada were the scenes of joyful celebration on May 8 1945, as six long years of world war came nearer to an end with the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender. This date has since been known as VE Day, for ‘victory in Europe’.
Local resident Paul France was present for Almonte’s VE Day celebrations, and sends this note and accompanying photos:
72 years ago today, the Town of Almonte held a celebratory parade… here’s a few photos from that day. I was 4 1/2 years old and decorated my tricycle for the parade. My mother tells me I had just turned the corner on Water St. when this was taken, so that’s not me on those 3 trikes. The occasion? VE Day — Germany had just surrendered — and unlike today, it wasn’t snowing.
UPDATE: Fern Martin and Marilyn Snedden send this excerpt from their mother’s diary for that same time:
May 7, 1945
End of the war in Europe announced. We took Miss Hutton and the girls to town at night and went to the service at the town hall and saw the fireworks and the burning of Hitler. Showery & then clearing.
(Miss Hutton was the teacher at SS#15 who boarded at Fern and Marilyn’s home)
May 8
School holiday
May 9
Quite a snowstorm in the morning but sunny later.
