this is bbc news with the latest headlines. ministers urge the public to maintain the coronavirus lockdown amid accusations that it's delivered mixed messages about the restrictions. the queen is to lead tributes to those who fought in the second world war — 75 years to the day sir winston churchill announced victory in europe. this is your victory.

in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. cheering. events will take place at home and online to pay tribute to the men and women who fought in the second world war. fundraing hero, captain tomjoins the veterans remembering the part they played in a key moment in our history. it was going well here but they were still out there, risking their lives and battling on, as they always did.

hello, good morning, and welcome to bbc news. as the uk prepares to celebrate the ve day bank holiday, ministers are warning against breaking social distancing rules over the weekend. the government says there will be no change to regulations ahead of the prime minister's address on sunday, when he's expected to spell out the next steps. our political correspondent jessica parker reports. bagpipes skirl. pots and pans bang. united appreciation last night across the uk for frontline workers, the prime minister joining the applause. on sunday, he'll explain how lockdown might be eased. we're going to be very, very cautious about what happens and under what timetable. this isn't going to be a single announcement that that's the end of the lockdown and everything is back to normal. sure, i don't think anybody was expecting that. we are in this for long haul. we are, sadly, going to have to live with this virus for some time, and that means that we are going to have to have a gradual

approach to loosening some of these restrictions. but no change yet — "maximum caution" the watchword — and could the rate of infection be going up because of what is happening in care homes? the number has probably gone upjust a little bit since last estimates, and that is driven by the epidemic in care homes, he would say, and i would not demure from that. until now, governments across the uk have been more or less in step. but in scotland, as lockdown‘s extended, there is unease at where number 10 may be headed. i particularly strongly believe for us to drop the clear, well—understood, stay—at—home message right now could be a potentially catastrophic mistake. in northern ireland, no movement yet on easing restrictions. in wales, we'll hear more today about how and when minor adjustments could begin. there is unity here but, on releasing lockdown,

different parts of the uk could move at different speeds. though the pace of change is set to be slow. jessica parker, bbc news. the queen, the prince of wales and the prime minister will mark the 75th anniversary of ve day today — when nazi germany surrendered to allied forces and the second world war in europe was declared over. commemorations have been adapted to reflect social distancing measures — but we are still being encouraged to celebrate safely at home. our correspondent robert hall has this report. to those who were there, it seems a lifetime ago, but the scenes they witnessed on that spring day in 1945 have never left them. a tidal wave of euphoria and excitement filling the city streets to overflowing, and reaching every corner of the british isles. archive: in an old and tattered tent, there occurred the greatest

battlefield surrender of this or any other war. the instrument of germany's unconditional surrender was signed. the fighting in europe had effectively been over for several days — since the first surrender documents had been signed. but for millions of people, this was the moment to begin a party that would last through the night. we had quite good celebrations — about a dozen of us there, i would suppose. and we had a barrel of red wine on the end of the lorry and a barrel of white wine, and our pint mugs and we enjoyed the evening very much. bill ridgewell served throughout europe with the royal electrical and mechanical engineers. he says ve day is still an important event on his calendar. and to celebrate it now, we must learn that that must never happen again.

the waste of material, of lives and of innocence through the war was tremendous. it's just a pure waste, is warfare. but how different it will be 75 years on — no flags, no parties, no crowds. just a call for us all to mark this momentous day however we can. all of us who were born since 1945 are acutely conscious that we owe everything we most value to the generation who won the second world war. and we remember the millions of people from across the united kingdom and from across the world who came together in world war ii to fight for our shared values. values of freedom, of democracy, of peace.

covid—i9 has shredded elaborate plans drawn up for cities, towns and villages. five years ago on the 70th anniversary, thousands of us joined acts of remembrance, sat down for street celebrations or lit beacons. we are celebrating ve day because it's the 75th anniversary. in 2020, we can't gather together in the way we used to but lockdown has taught us all to adapt, so the bunting's going up in our homes, gardens and streets. even those shielded from the pandemic will play their part — after all, many of them remember the real thing. this year's remembrance in lockdown will, in a strange way, be part of history itself. it will be part of the mad story of this great lockdown. i don't know how — of course, it's too soon to say — how historians will remember it. by 1945, war had brought many families and communities closer together. radio linked them with events

at home and abroad. now we're all learning that, even when we are forced apart, we can still share experiences. and maybe we can understand a little more about the sense ofjoy and release 75 years ago. robert hall, bbc news. the archbishop of canterbury, justin welby, says the spirit of hope which helped the uk through the war can also be seen in oui’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. in a video message, he also drew parallels between the wartime generation and today's health care staff and key workers. hope kept courage alive from 1940 to 1945. hope was expressed in the national day of prayer. hope shows in our determination to build a better, a fairer, more christlike world, and country — a country built in justice, peace and generosity —

as we are united before the threat of the virus and united by the courage of medical staff and carers, as well as so many more essential workers. plans are being made to increase train services a week on monday — that's may the 18th — ahead of a possible easing of restrictions to allow more people back to work. at the moment only half of train services are running, but rail bosses and government sources say services will be increased to about 70% of the normal timetable. resources are likely to be focussed on urban commuter lines, rather than long distance intercity routes. the mercury—nominated rapper ty has died aged 47 after contracting coronavirus. tributes to the nigerian—british musician came from celebrity fans including the actor idris elba, who described him as a "uk hip—hop pioneer" and said he was "broken" at the news. ty‘s death was confirmed online by his press team.

as we've been hearing, people around the uk are to mark the 75th anniversary of ve day — the day that peace was declared in europe following six years of conflict in the second world war. events are planned throughout the uk, but the commemorations have taken a very different tone, with large scale events cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and people urged to celebrate at home. i'm joined now by culture secretary 0liver dowden. very good morning to you and thank you forjoining us this morning. so much work of course, had gone into planning for events to date. it's a very different day to what we expected it would be but tell us how the government is actually marking ve day, the 75th anniversary, and how you personally will be marking it. as you say, this special and significant day, 75 years on from ve

day, we had been planning street parties and parades and all those kind of activities that would involve people getting together, we clearly can't do that given the current advice around protecting ourselves from the virus. so we will still have a fantastic day of events, hopefully one that people can remember. for me, i think some of the highlights, the prince of wales will lead the nation in two minute's silence at 11 o'clock, the big one will be the queen addressing the nation at 9pm, after which he will be encouraging everyone to have a singalong of the dame vera lynn hit we'll meet again. it's an opportunity, while we are at home to reflect on our own family's experiences and it's certainly something i've been doing. just a couple of examples, my grandmother worked in a barrage balloon factory in north london, i talked to her about she died —— before she died. she found the smell of the glue

awful in that place but she and the young women who were working there knew they were doing their bit to save lives and there was this tragedy on my mother ‘s side, her father lost his wife and three children in the clydebank blitz so i think all families will have these kind of stories and it a great opportunity to talk to one another about it. and i hope people won't look back on years to come and think i missed that opportunity to talk to relatives if they are still alive and if relatives aren't alive, the a ncestry and if relatives aren't alive, the ancestry website is putting up their sort of ancestry records for free over the weekend so you can do a bit of research yourself. how will you be encouraging and how will the government encourage the public today to mark ve day safely because obviously, parties are still planned, street celebrations and so on. well, people should be doing all of those things but in their own homes and in their own social units. with the people who live with you in

your household. we've produced a pack and it's available online, to make your own bunting, you can't do that with your kids. there's some recipes, people like natalie hussain have produced some inspirational rabies —— recipes, i don't know necessarily we will be asking people to make autumn pie! but to connect with each other. and it's going to have a degree of poignancy for all of us. as the archbishop of canterbury and others have said. we will of course reflect on our current circumstances but i think .. sorry current circumstances but i think sorryto current circumstances but i think sorry to interrupt, the reason i ask you as it brings me onto what the prime minister is going to announce on sunday. with regards to the lockdown. do you think that borisjohnson in the lockdown. do you think that boris johnson in his the lockdown. do you think that borisjohnson in his desire perhaps to give us some light at the end of the tunnel, set expectations a little bit too high because it seems to me that you and fellow ministers have spent the days since then

trying to row back on that and telling us not to expect too much from sunday ‘s announcement? telling us not to expect too much from sunday 's announcement? the first thing that's very important for all of your viewers is that the guidance remains the same. as it has been for several weeks during this lockdown. and you are familiar with it and we all are, in order to stay at home, protect the nhs, save lives, subject to those exemptions, exercise and so on but what the prime minister will do on sunday night as set out the road map ahead andi night as set out the road map ahead and i think that's an important thing to do. because of businesses, families, everyone planning, to give them some sense of what the future will look like, we appear to be through the peak of this. if we can continue on this trajectory, he will be setting out the sort of steps that will happen over time but at the heart of this, will be public health, protecting public health and we will only take steps if the science allows us to do so. the comparison between the front line in

world war ii and the front line now of course, will not be lost on you and out of respect for those front—line workers, especially the health workers, is it simply too soon to be talking about starting to ease that lockdown, when the government isn't meeting its testing targets and when there isn't a comprehensive track and trace system in place yet? well, if you look at the reason for us entering this lockdown in the first place, we sought to do two things, firstly, we needed to stop the out—of—control acceleration of this virus in the population. and that has happened, we are past the peak, of course we need to be highly alert to ensure we don't have that second peak at over the nhs and secondly we needed to ensure we didn't overwhelm the nhs so we ensure we didn't overwhelm the nhs so we kept a ventilator and intensive care unit capacity ahead of demand and we manage that. of course, there have been other

challenges and we are working through all of those but what we are doing on sunday is saying where we will go over the coming weeks and months. but it will be a cautious approach and it will be conditional on this conditional point is key. we will only take each step if we are confident we can continue to keep in this trajectory. but what about the here and now, and especially in care homes? sir keir starmer saying we owe it to the ve day generation to protect them from the epidemic in ca re protect them from the epidemic in care homes and you know, it's people of that age who will be in care homes now, do you accept that the government has been unfortunately much too slow to help that generation in care homes, which seems to have been, that sector seems to have been, that sector seems to have been, that sector seems to have been at the back of the queue for testing and ppe? of course is the prime minister has acknowledged there have been real challenges in care homes, that's why we've set out this social care action plan and at the core of that area number of

action plan and at the core of that are a number of elements. first of all, getting the testing so tens of thousands of workers in care homes and people who are living in care homes are getting that testing, we are ramping that up. 52 million pieces of protective equipment, ramping that up as well. getting more people recruited into care homes and we are getting more money into it and whilst the right does remain too high in care homes, the first evidence showing that the number of deaths is starting to fall although of course, every debt there, i know, is a tragedy for the family is concerned, so we need to keep up the pressure there. 0k, culture secretary 0liver dowden, thank you very much for your time today. when we look back at the second world war we often talk about the men who went off to fight. but let's not forget that more than 250,000 british women also signed up for military service. graham satchell caught up with two of them.

nice to meet you. yes, indeed. perhaps we'll meet one day. betty and molly, two quite remarkable women. i shall be 97 this time next week. 97? lam 102. you're a chicken! archive: hundreds of the first girl conscripts that this country has ever known arrived with volunteers at a depot to be welcomed into the ranks of the ats. more than a quarter of a million womenjoined the ats in the second world war. in less time than it takes to tell, the 215 and unders have said goodbyes to civvy clothes and are donning the uniform of the ats. they're in the army now. molly is thought to be the oldest surviving female veteran. it takes a small army of helpers to put all her medals on. i was a supervisor in woolworths,

and i wanted to join the army, so ijoined up when i was 22. i was a sergeant major within nine months. wow! yeah. ijust went zoom, straight to the top. this is afterwards. that's me there. ah! look at that uniform. incredible. you look so smart, betty. thank you. betty webb spoke german, so when she signed up she was interviewed by military intelligence and sent to bletchley park. what did you do when you got there? oh, well, to start with, read and sign the official secrets act, which was pretty frightening, because i wasn't expecting it. and it was a fairly formidable document, as you can imagine. what happened at bletchley park was kept secret for decades. it was home to the codebreakers, and credited with shortening the war and saving countless lives. betty'sjob, to register the signals coming in from all over the world. it was a mammoth task for the codebreakers to make sense of it all.

another group of people would decide where the messages were to go, either direct to the field or winston churchill. archive: the prime minister, accompanied by mrs churchill, visits anti—aircraft guncraft, which are tackling flying bombs. did you meet winston? only in inspections. not to... ..not to be pally with. didn't come to dances or anything like that. at the height of the blitz, molly's job was to control a battery of anti—aircraft guns, stationed in richmond park. i had to tell them what fuse to put in the guns and to stand by and stand by and stand by and fire! when i said "fire", that was when they had to let them all go. i just wanted to ask you whether it was scary, molly, when you were doing thatjob? no, not a bit. i loved it.

i was all bustle. did you feel comfortable telling men what to do? oh, yes, they had to do as i told them, or else they'd get put in the cookhouse peeling the spuds! laughter. did you quite enjoy that? yes. don't mess with molly! we may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing. the end of the war in europe, ve day, 75 years ago today. as soon as the news came through, bletchley went slightly mad and i went up to london with others, on the train, and we milled around in london, everybody singing and dancing and drinking. and there were so many people there, you didn't have to consciously walk, you were just pulled along by the crowd. well, it was total elation, of course, and relief after all the problems. a lot of sadness for

those who'd lost people. but, at the same time, a great deal ofjoy. 0n ve day molly was still on the front line, in nuremberg. shortly afterwards she married her husband bernard. they were the first couple to marry in occupied germany. keep yourself well. yes, and you. talk to you soon. talk to you again. betty and molly, just two of the extraordinary, remarkable women who helped to win the war. she is lovely, isn't she? yes. graham satchell, bbc news. to both of those women, betty and molly, thank you for your service. the memories of those who lived through conflict and crisis are a valuable way of understanding its impact — and as part of ve day 75 celebrations, the imperial war museum has created the voices of war project. using its vast archive, the museum network is encouraging people to listen to the story of the day, told by some of the people who lived it. let's have a listen to some of those

people who lived through the war and their memories of ve day. we fished out a unionjack which we had, which survived the bombing. we hung it outside and there were bonfires outside and people dancing in the streets and cheering. the relief was unbelievable. i was glad to be alive. and women were crying, they were going to see their husbands they hadn't seen for two years. it was jolly, jolly, jolly. you see, everybody wasjust so overjoyed. it was so sad for those that had just lost, perhaps only the day before, one of their nearest and dearest. that was all so sad, but there was the other side that was so wonderful. susie thornberry is assistant director of public engagement and learning, imperial war museum shejoins me now. thank you so much for your time today. those voices we

just heard, what more can you tell us just heard, what more can you tell us about the people who were reliving those memories? good morning. imperial war museum explores the human impact of conflict, we often tell stories like those that you've just heard, actually, of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances and we wa nted extraordinary circumstances and we wanted to share some of the stories to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ve day which was a moment of jubilation that the war in europe had come to an end but also, of great relief, of loss, of trepidation that the three months of conflict were still to come and you heard three examples of some of the voices that we have in our collection and you can go to the website to hear a four—minute soundscape drawn from the vast soundscape drawn from the vast sounds archive which contains over 60,000 hours of interviews. that's what you want people to do today, that's what you're asking people to do today, to get involved with that soundscape, the project. tell us

more about that. yes. the project was really inspired by the way people would have heard about the news of victory, gathered round the wi reless news of victory, gathered round the wireless in homes. and we wanted to share the broad range of experiences from that date so if you go to the website, what you will hear is people like what you've just heard, saying it was a day that was jolly, jolly, saying it was a day that was jolly, jolly, jolly, you will hear a schoolgirl talking about how she coped tomorrow would be beautiful but you will also hear a prisoner of war reflecting on the fact that he we pt war reflecting on the fact that he wept at that moment, of someone from a concentration camp talking about his personal loss which that moment had really brought to relief and you will hear people saying, that was not the end, we had three more months of conflict to come. the whole gamut of emotions and as you say, people listen to that today it will be mirroring, i guess, how people would have heard news of the

war in europe ending, 75 years ago, when they listened to their radios, their wireless, as i suppose they would have called it back then. is there an added poignancy to today, do you think, because of what we are going through, that people are, by the very nature of this pandemic, forced to spend more time at home, to stop and think a little bit more about what's going on around them?|j think about what's going on around them?” think certainly, this is a global crisis that we are experiencing at the moment, in the same way as during the second world war. one of the things we've been doing is to help families during home—schooling sessions and some of the things we've been encouraging them, as well as doing history lessons, which help with the home—schooling, is those lessons of resilience and creativity and cooperation and resourcefulness that really came out during the

second world war and we are looking at personal stories like these to really draw those out and to help people who are stuck at home at the moment. ve day of course was in the end of world war ii, does this project reflect that? it does, in fa ct, project reflect that? it does, in fact, and this looks at a number of events leading up to the end of the second world war, so we have another soundscape which reflects on the dropping of the atomic bomb and also one which looks at the end of the war, on the 15th of august. thank you so much for telling us about that. the voices of war project, at the imperial war museum, encouraging you to get involved with the project today, by going to the website and listening to that four—minute soundscape, voices of people, remembering their experiences of ve day. the time is 9:27am, time to ta ke day. the time is 9:27am, time to take a look at the weather. here is

sarah. hello, if you are celebrating the 75th anniversary of ve day, may be from home or in your garden, the weather is looking mostly trite and settled but we do have a few heavy showers and potentially some thunderstorms in the forecast. plenty of sunshine for the south and east of england, a few heavy showers in england and wales, scotland and northern ireland seen a few of those as well, the odd rumble of thunder around, temperatures in the warmest spot is reaching 2425 degrees but typically in the high teens or mid 20s. we've got some heavy showers and thunderstorms continuing this evening, gradually fading overnight, a fairly evening, gradually fading overnight, afairly mild evening, gradually fading overnight, a fairly mild night, temperatures around 7—11d. quite murky through some irish sea coasts and that story continues into saturday. throughout the day tomorrow a lot of try in fine weather, heavy rain across the north of scotland, later in the afternoon more scattered and heavy showers especially for northern england, wales, the midlands. temperatures between 14—24d.

goodbye.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... ministers urge the public to maintain the coronavirus lockdown amid accusations that it's delivered mixed messages about the restrictions. the queen is to lead tributes to those who fought in the second world war, 75 years to the day sir winston churchill announced victory in europe. today is your victory. in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. events will take place at home and online to pay tribute to the men and women who fought in the second world war.

fundraising hero captain tom joins the veterans remembering the part they played in a key moment in our history. everything was going well here, but they were still out there risking their lives and battling on, as they always did. as we've been seeing, people around the country are marking the 75th anniversary of ve day today — and while public gatherings have been ruled out, it was always going to take more than a lockdown to prevent celebrations, and commemorations, taking place. with much of the real world off limits, many of us are holding events online, as tim muffett has been finding out. commemorations planned for years disrupted in weeks. but to quote winston churchill "it's the courage to continue that counts".

what i've managed to do is pull together a number of standard bearers from across the uk and further afield to have a virtual act of remembrance to basically film themselves performing an act of remembrance and a royal salute. the royal british legion's virtual remembrance parade go online at 11 o'clock. you get a real age range of people taking part, haven't you? 0ur youngest standard bearer, lola, she is five. hi, lola, how are you doing? now, lola, you're the youngest person taking part in the virtual parade. how does that feel? amazing. a generation ago they carried on as normal so i think we need to carry on as normal as possible to mark — to remember this. pipe major roger bayes has composed a special ve day march. it was supposed to be performed at ceremonies across the uk. i play with the city

of norwich pipe band. would have been playing at the most easterly point in the uk, which is ness point in lowestoft. but of course they can't do it now so we'll all be playing at our own separate addresses. the 27 countries it is going to be played in by over 1000 pipers globally. so foryou, elaine, ve day has always was been very special, hasn't it? it's a very special day because i was born on ve day 1945. it's always been a familyjoke that they didn't dare fight after i was born because they would fight after i was born because i would have sorted them out. and how will you be marking your birthday and ve day? i live alone so it'll be the first year in my whole life that i have not celebrated it with friends and i will miss that, but my god—daughter sent me six bottles of prosecco to celebrate. # we'll meet again... tonight at nine o'clock across the uk the nation is invited to sing along to we'll meet again. pupils of the roche school

in south london have already recorded their rendition. # some sunny day... # keep smiling through... it's hoped it will be led from her window by 103—year—old dame vera lynn, alongside her daughter, virginia. it does depend on how she feels and how cold it is. if it's very chilly then she won't be near the window. but, anyway, she will be singing and we'll all be singing. and how is your mother now? she is fine, she's fine. but at 103, you know, very bright and breezy one minute, not quite as bright and breezy the next. but on the whole she's doing very, very well. this song is part of our national story, isn't it? does it feel especially poignant at the moment? i mean, it resonated extremely widely because of the current crisis. it's timeless and it willjust carry on. people who are away, people who are parted,

there will always be that feeling that they will meet again one day. # some sunny day...# millions of us went outside last night to clap for key workers, and tonight we'll have another chance tojoin our neighbours — this time for a national singalong. the song in question is dame vera lynn's "we'll meet again", which has taken on a new resonance during the lockdown. let's hear a few thoughts — including some from dame vera herself — about why this track has stood the test of time. # we'll meet again. # don't know where. # don't know when...# when this song appears it's

precisely at the point where thousands and thousands of families are being separated. archival: to our men in uniform, from the girls at home. you've got tens of thousands of british troops scattered across the world, apart from theirfamilies. so the song encapsulates that, and radio is the means of connection. it's really nice to think, if you're separated, that your families back home are listening to the same thing at the same time and the song itself, of course, we'll meet again, encapsulates exactly the wistfulness and the sadness but also the determination to meet again that so many soldiers and civilians felt. archival: a personal letter in words and music, sincerely yours, vera lynn. you think, well, now, what am i going to close the programme on, it's got to be something. oh, yes, i know, i've been singing

a nice song in the theatres, variety theatres, we'll meet again, that's a nice... so that's when i chose we'll meet again as my fading out song on radio. and, of course, it's never left me. clearly we can overdo the comparisons with war, but there is something stunningly similar here, which is this whole notion of enforced separation and we're willingly doing it because we have some sort of faith that there will be an ultimate victory. so it is about separation which is endurable if there is a sense of purpose. archival: it's sort of wonderful where husbands and wives torn apart by war can be brought together by music. the fact that these songs were so emotional really worried the top brass of the bbc and one of them said, "how could men fit

themselves for battle with such debilitating tunes ringing in theirears?" and the people who actually made the programmes visited the soldiers' camps and they could see for themselves not just that vera lynn was really popular, but there was absolutely no sign whatsoever that their resolve to fight was being weakened. this was a real moment in history when emotions were 0k, even among fighting men, and it was also a moment in history, really, that was a lesson for the old guard that, actually, it was a lesson in learning to trust the people and to not underestimate their resolve. # but i know we'll meet again some sunny day...# music playing such a huge part 75

yea rs music playing such a huge part 75 years ago, as it always does around big national events. dance was a big pa rt big national events. dance was a big part of celebrations as well. english heritage had plans to support street parties across england by sending dancers to teach swing dancing to communities, but those plans have been delayed as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. instead, english heritage is encouraging everyone to mark the anniversary with their own ve day celebration at home, and has put together a ve day 75 pack including 1940s recipes, dance steps and even a spotify playlist to help you plan. anna eavis is the curatorial director at english heritage. shejoins me now. good morning and thank you for joining us. a very different day to the one you had planned, which was to send dancers out to street parties in different communities across england. how have you adapted to the new circumstances? like many

people, we normally would be celebrating this across the country. many of our historic properties were associated with the second world war so we associated with the second world war so we would have had events there as well. but like many organisations we have been trying to find ways where people can participate with us at home. we have put together a pack that people can download. in addition to recipes and the spotify playlist, we are hoping we can get people dancing. to that end, we will be offering a tutorial at midday today online, which people canjoin in with. and that is a lindy hop tutorial. that's right. the photographs of the sera of the patients of ve day, and i'm sure many people will have seen them on our website and elsewhere, have plenty of people dancing. —— photographs of the celebrations of ve day. a really popular dance craze

in the 40s that had come over from america, from harlem where it originated, is the lindy hop. it's a good feel social dance. we have put together a simple routine that people can learn at lunchtime today. i will interrupt you there because we can show our viewers a clip of one of your dancers doing the lindy hop and if you fancy having a go, let's have a look. music: chattanooga choo choo. anyone can go on your website and see a little bit more of that. music and dance is so important to any big celebration, but reflect for us the pa rt celebration, but reflect for us the part it played back on ve day 75

yea rs part it played back on ve day 75 years ago. it's really important for us years ago. it's really important for us to remember that it was a day of release and celebration but it was also a day of reflection and solemnity. i have been struck by the photographs i have seen in what i have been reading, where people were flocking to london for example to ta ke flocking to london for example to take part in big, joyful scenes, but there were also, i think at st paul's, ten consecutive remembrance services, with each one attended by thousands of people. in coventry in the ruins of the cathedral, they had services. many people have lost loved ones, 60,000 civilians were killed and many hundreds of thousands of british troops were killed. it is a day of mixed emotions. churchill mack set the tone in his speech when he said, it's a day to celebrate but there is a lot more work to do. we feel that

dancing and singing is a powerful way to come together in a time of difficulty. it's something we can all enjoy, but always remembering those that were lost and the price that was paid. perhaps because of the enforced paws and the pandemic, there is now more time for people to think about what happened 75 years ago and engage with the events that have moved online, such as the ones you have been telling us about, like the ones english heritage has put together. that's right. i don't want together. that's right. i don't want to overstate the comparison, but i do feel there is a way in which the experience of many families in the uk all those years ago has a sort of resonance today. and i think perhaps it makes it more poignant for us. anna eavis is the curatorial

director at english heritage. thank you forjoining us. many people are celebrating ve day in their own ways. earlier, our correspondent holly hamilton went to a street in chester to see how residents are celebrating ve day there let me transport you back to 1945. as you mentioned, so many people have had street parties and celebrations to mark ve day cancelled altogether, but that hasn't stopped this street in chester coming up with an alternative and socially distant safe way to celebrate this occasion and this day. now, let me bring you my two metre microphone while we meet some of the residents here, because we are adhering to social distancing rules and making sure everybody is two metres apart today. matt, you are one of the organisers behind what would have been ve day's street party here. that's been cancelled. tell me what you're doing instead. yeah, this street would normally have been... well, it is adorned with bunting and there would normally be crowds of people doing the hokey people doing the hokey cokey and congas and

all sorts of things, but of course, the social restrictions mean we can't do that. so we are all socially distance down the street with our tea and coffee and cakes and whatever else. and we can sing from the doorsteps. you have been singing, you created a video in the attire you are wearing now and it has gone viral. yes, can't believe it did but we managed to create a film as a way of showing the community spirit but at a social distance. using all the songs from the second world war, which had kind ofa the second world war, which had kind of a real resonance when we were singing them in the times we are in now. it's just amazing that so many people have watched it all around the world. it has been shown on national television everywhere. have you been surprised by the reaction? really surprised. i have friends in germany, australia and america all asking if that was me on the television. it's been amazing. you will sing as a bit of a tune. we

will sing as a bit of a tune. we will have another rendition later but here is a tune for a wander down through history. i love it! this street is full of history, some of the houses, their families street is full of history, some of the houses, theirfamilies have owned their homes for generations. 0ne resident lived through the second world war. someone who has documented many a street party and this time is neil. that wasn't me in the second world war!” this time is neil. that wasn't me in the second world war! i was going to say, you look very well. many street parties have taken place here. there really has. 0ver parties have taken place here. there really has. over the years, going back to the 405, there is a whole hi5tory back to the 405, there is a whole history of street partie5 back to the 405, there is a whole history of street parties and the community are getting together. naturally, at the best of times we are a very close community with lots of shared hi5tory. are a very close community with lots of shared history. it seems especially poignant this year that we are all separate but still going out there to do our thing. and you have been document in some of the street parties over the years with terrific photographs on display. absolutely. in 2014 we made a whole three minute black and white film of

the street and recreated how it would have been in the 19405. in a way i have been like a custodian for the street and its history. it's been magical to be here and recreate a lot of that. it's been incredible to see everyone come together like this. even though we are keeping very much a part. yeah, we are naturally, and as the film shows it isa naturally, and as the film shows it is a naturally social street. max and kirsty next door were very friendly. we'll connect with each other and we all know each other on a first name basis. it feels like the wartime, we often say that about the wartime, we often say that about the street, it has old—fashioned community values. 0ne the street, it has old—fashioned community values. one of the lovely things that has happened nationally as we are seeing things that has happened nationally as we are seeing more things that has happened nationally as we are seeing more of that.” wish i had known more and i would have got dressed up. neil, you look terrific, with his own little bar. very jealous. let's look terrific, with his own little bar. veryjealous. let's look at terrific, with his own little bar. very jealous. let's look at some terrific, with his own little bar. veryjealous. let's look at some of the different costumes. we have scones and jam and cream. sadly, i can't have any of those on offer, or any of the cakes, a nightmare this morning. and we can meet little

beatrix, born during the lockdown. she hasn't met her grandparents yet. no, she hasn't yet unfortunately but she will do soon and there will be lots of cuddles. she is beautiful. and i love the outfits as well. these ladies looking remarkable, again, morejam and again, more jam and bonds gorgeous. again, more jam and bonds that i can't have. looking remarkable this morning. a lot of people are drawing the comparison with this event here to the clap for the nhs and carers. an nhs worker who lives on the street, maria, again with the tea and buns, you look fantastic and you are an nhs worker. shout out to the key workers and essential workers today. worker. shout out to the key workers and essential workers todaym worker. shout out to the key workers and essential workers today. it must bea and essential workers today. it must be a difficult time right now. it's nice to be able to wave to the neighbours today with everyone making an effort and being part of a community spirit. it's a really friendly street. getting my bestie set out. and some traditional

recipes on show. i have traditional wartime welsh cakes with all the bits from the bottom of the cupboard. i think it's ok! bits from the bottom of the cupboard. ithink it's ok! looks pretty good for me. and an australian flag behind you.” pretty good for me. and an australian flag behind you. i am australian, so this is the aussie corner of the street. it must be fantastic to live on a street like this, which is extremely friendly, coming together at a time like this. we are coming together at a time like this. we a re really coming together at a time like this. we are really lucky, it's a good bunch of people. it looks remarkable. and at a time like this, when we are being told and adhering to social distance rules, we have to be two metres apart, there are so many people across the uk who are doing similar things today to mark this 75th anniversary of ve day. it's interesting to see at a time when most people have to stay apart, the whole of the uk is really coming together for this very special day. studio: holly hamilton reporting. what a great street that is in chester and it looks like they will

have a fantastic celebration today. today may be one of celebration, but also a time to honour those who fought through the second world war. bert turner, is 96. he was an raf flight engineer during the war and was shot down twice but survived, earning his place in the caterpillar club — for bailing out of his aircraft using a parachute. hejoins me now. it's a privilege to talk to you today. thank you so much. proudly displaying your medals today. you joined the raf as soon as you could, you were just 18, weren't you? yes. and i think you always really wanted to fly, you said from a really young age. yes, always! why did you have that desire? well, i suppose it was the time i was born. i was born in

1923. the great war was still in everybody‘s mind. i was always taken by the fighter pilots of the first world war. ball and mcmanus and those locked. they were your heroes? yes, of course. by december of 1943, about a year after you signed up to join the raf, you were assigned to a squadron, so tell us about that group of men you flew with.” squadron, so tell us about that group of men you flew with. i flew with six other chaps for most of the war. we were crude up in 1943. we just started flying together. —— we we re just started flying together. —— we were crewed up. until september 44,

were crewed up. until september 44, we we re were crewed up. until september 44, we were like a family, we were brothers. i think at times in fact we we re brothers. i think at times in fact we were closer than brothers. you we re we were closer than brothers. you were living and fighting together, so were living and fighting together, so there must have been an amazing camaraderie amongst you. we were fortu nate. camaraderie amongst you. we were fortunate. we were all ncos. there we re fortunate. we were all ncos. there were no officers in the cruise so we we re were no officers in the cruise so we were together all the time, in the mess, the sleeping quarters and everything. the seven of us were altogether. what are your most vivid memories of that period, flying with those six other men? i know you were shot down twice. can you tell us about those events? that was part of about those events? that was part of a day's work. a lot of the time it

was just like flying from here to spain, nothing to it. it wasjust the odd time where you came up and you were in trouble. you make it sound so matter of fact. were you afraid? in those days it was. i know it sounds stupid to say so, but that was part of the day's work. can you tell us more about the times you we re tell us more about the times you were then shot down? how do you explain that? ijust don't know. you're flying along, another fighter comes along, and you both want the same piece of air space. that's all ican same piece of air space. that's all i can say. it is so ridiculous when you think about it. killing each

other... but that's how it was. it's an extraordinary life that you have lived, bert. it might sound glamorous when you talk about it, but as i say, this is what you were trained for. i guess those tales of fighter pilots in world war i and pilots and planes being shot down, that's what inspired you to join that's what inspired you to join that life as well. and there you we re that life as well. and there you were living and breathing and surviving it. yes. i think this is where the crew business came in. you we re where the crew business came in. you were all scared that you were going to be the one that failed. and i think that's what pulled us through, the camaraderie of the crews. where

we re the camaraderie of the crews. where were you on ve day? i was in the mess. i was 22. we had a party. and where was the mess? it was in keble in wiltshire. and beer costjust where was the mess? it was in keble in wiltshire. and beer cost just 3p per pint! so plenty was drunk, i expect! i think we wash the floor with it. and what were your memories of that celebration? you say you we re of that celebration? you say you were in the mess, but did you want to be back home with family, or were you happy to celebrate with your work colleagues, with the men you had flown with and who made sure those aircraft could fly? well, i couldn't celebrate with the chaps i

flew with because we had all separated. so you had separated by that point? yes. we were all over the place. the skipper and rear gunner were dead. they had been killed. i had been slightly wounded. and the rest of the lads had gone to other places. was it a bittersweet moment then, that night? yes, i think it was. there was a bit of apprehension as well, because we we re apprehension as well, because we were on call for going to the far east. and that wasn't being looked forward to. you had got through to that point, and you had lost good friends, as you say, and you didn't relish the prospect of more fighting at that point, from the sounds of

things. yes. there is nothing glamorous about it. we were happy to have all survived. at 96, what are your most abiding memories of that time and that day? i think of it every day. i think of the skipper and the lads. they have all gone now. i'm the last one. i've got some very good memories of them. i've got some very sad memories. but i wouldn't have missed it. if i had to do it again, knowing what i know now, i would still do it again.

bert, thank you so much for talking to us. it's been a privilege to speak to you. bert turner, raf vetera n. speak to you. bert turner, raf veteran. thank you very much. there is one thing... i thought i was out of time but we do have some more time for you. go ahead. can ijust say, for the last five or six years, things have been difficult. but i've got to say this. i have the raf benevolent fund to thank for many very happy memories and the things they have done in the last few yea rs. they have done in the last few years. thank you for speaking to us. in passing that on. thank you for

sharing your memories of the war and ve day. bert turner, raf veteran and world war ii veteran, shot down twice during world war ii. what a man and thank you for your service. you are watching bbc news.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the queen is to lead tributes to those who fought in the second world war — 75 years to the day since sir winston churchill announced victory in europe. this is your victory. in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. cheering. the red arrows will fly over london in the next 10 minutes, and modern raf typhoonjets will appear overhead in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast.