Veterans don Union flag hats and dance to 1940s tunes at VE Day street party

Military veterans and their families have celebrated the 80th anniversary of VE Day at a veterans’ home near Glasgow by donning Union flag hats and dancing to wartime classics.

The event at the Erskine home near Bishopton, Renfrewshire, saw some 400 people gather in a courtyard in the warm spring sunshine, where bunting, balloons and a large marquee had been set up, in a recreation of the street parties held to celebrate VE Day 80 years ago.

Inside the tent the home’s residents chatted over slices of cake and cold drinks at cabaret-style tables, while a trio of singers helped roll back the years with performances of a series of classic tunes.

Many veterans clapped their hands and sang along to the likes of We’ll Meet Again, In The Mood, and Rum And Coca-Cola, and some even took to the dancefloor in the company of members of the home’s staff.

For Erskine Veterans Charity chief executive Ian Cumming, the event was an opportunity to celebrate “the courage of those who changed the tide of history for the better”.

He continued: “If they hadn’t won then the world would be a different place.

“The peace and stability they brought us as a result of that victory we’ve benefited from for decades.”

Asked about what the event meant to the home’s veterans he said: “They love it.

“They’ll know the significant of it, the defeat of Nazism and expansionism.

“They’ll know the sacrifices made, the great toll taken on their forebears, and some of them served during the Second World War and they saw it first hand.

“So those people will have an opportunity to take the stage and tell their stories and be applauded.

“But everyone who served in the armed forces understands that they are effectively putting their lives on the line.

“So it’s a celebration of the people came back, and also a chance to reflect on those that didn’t.”

The Erskine home is for veterans of all ages, and the event was attended by people of a wide range of ages and military experiences.

Alex Bremner, an 89-year-old who did his national service in the RAF in the 1950s, recalled his experience of VE Day as a nine-year-old boy in Glasgow.

“All I can remember … is going round the houses looking for firewood to throw in your bonfire,” he said.

“We stayed in Townhead in Glasgow and we just went round the doors asking if there’s any wood you want to get rid of, and used that for the bonfire.”

He also recalled his parents’ experience during the war, explaining that his father had served in the Merchant Navy and had not been at home when the war ended.

He said of his mother: “I remember her reading the papers.

“She was always in tears thinking about what the troops were going through.”

For Erskine trustee and former army reservist Colonel Mike Edwards it was important to “push the boat out” to celebrate veterans of the conflict.

“They’re all of a certain age, and many of them will remember VE Day for real,” he explained.

“It’s important that whilst we can we can, because won’t be able to do it forever, we can really push the boat out and say thank you to these amazing veterans.”

Contrasting their experience with his own military career he said: “They didn’t volunteer, they were conscripted to fight evil, tyranny, and fascism, and they were prepared to give their lives and many did.

“And the veterans here celebrating today lived through that experience.

“They remember VE Day.

“We’re fortunate to share VE Day 80 with them.

“But they were there, they lived that day and it’s really important to mark how these amazing people stood up and fought against evil, tyranny, fascism, to keep Europe free and the UK and Scotland free as well.”

There were also a number of young cadets at the event, who were helping serve food and drinks to the participants.

One, a 15-year-old lance corporal, said it made him “happy” to be there helping to make the residents happy.

He added that it was important to remember the conflict, both to help prevent it from being repeated, but also to celebrate the people who fought in it, “because they helped our country in a very big way”.