VE Day 80th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at Guildford Cathedral

On Sunday May 11th, I was honoured to be part of the VE Day 80th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving held in Guildford Cathedral. The Lord Lieutenant , Chair of Surrey County Council, Mayor of Guildford and I processed in behind Mrs Pat Clark a veteran of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. The service was led by The Very Reverend Bob Cooper, Dean of Guildford and the Bishop of Guildford, Right Reverend Andrew Watson gave the sermon. The Last Post and Reveille was rendered beautifully by Corporal Max Harris and the service was brought to a close, with the Standards and Union Flag processing out, by a solo hymn, Amazing Grace, sung amazingly by Sandra Gayer. All the uniformed cadet forces took part in the proceedings and the band of the Royal Army Medical Service regaled everyone outside the Cathedral after the service.

I was honoured to be introduced to Queenie, a centurion who had wanted to attend. She said how she caught a train to London form Chobham on VE Day and danced in the streets outside Buckingham Palace and said it was a day she could never forget. She also told stories of how the Canadian and American soldiers taught her the Jitterbug!

It was a wonderful occasion and the Lord Lieutenant remarked how great it was to see so many young people taking part and that he hoped that they would spread the word that we must never forget.