Thank You for Victory in Europe Day 2021.

This wonderful culinary spread was from our VE Day celebrations last year, which marked the 75th Anniversary of Europe’s liberation from the tyranny of Nazi Germany and the Second World War.  Sadly due to my being unwell and an extremely busy day, we weren’t able to celebrate yesterday to the same degree on the food front, but have postponed our proper celebrations for another day soon.

You know, in this country, we have such incredible liberty to live in peace and harmony in our time and I really think we so easily forget the dreadful and resolute sacrifice made by those who came before us. Even without meaning to, we can so easily take for granted our freedoms so hard won at the cost of millions people’s lives.

It’s desperately sad that anyone can feel they can in good conscience, look with disdain at the sacrifice of those men, women and yes even children, who went into the battle to fight to prevent Hitler and his depraved regime of absolute hideous genocide from gaining more ground. 

I wholeheartedly agree with the words of the writer, journalist and polemic Douglas Murray when he says ‘We have hit the jackpot in which part and place of history to have been born in.’ He doesn’t mean that arrogantly, but only to point out the comparative safety and vast opportunities of the society we dwell in now. 

Everyone knows a friend or a cousin or a brother or sister who is a soldier of some sort. Imagine them there, knowing it was most likely they wouldn’t be returning alive and seeing Hell on earth unravel before them, and thank God with all your heart that it isn’t you. Yesterday was a day of Remembrance, thankfulness, sober reflection and celebration. Thank the Lord for such a noble and selfless generation who sacrificed themselves in terrifying conditions so we could live at wonderful liberty.

The gauntlet is at our feet, will we live up to be more worthy of their sacrifice so gruesomely won?So how to do that?!

One way to show appreciation me and my family have found, is to support armed force charities. There are some great military charities out there and it’s not difficult to find one that reflects your own interests or concerns. We personally support a number including Reading Force military families charity, the British Forces Foundation, Combat Stress, Rugby for Heroes and most recently the Parachute Regiment Charity.

 

There are a superb and very varied selection of initiatives to support available to suit everyone’s gifts, time opportunities and ability to contribute financially or otherwise. Also please don’t be intimidated to get involved with armed forces charity work if you are a civilian and have no actual personal military experience. I know I was incredibly shy to get involved when I first started to support military charities, but really military charities are very happy and keen to have non military personnel support them as it gives them a different perspective and they are all about learning and growing and making progress. So Happy VE Day 2021 everybody and especially to those who lived to tell the tale of horror and final triumph. Thank you. We can never say thank you enough, but we can do our absolute best to never forget.