this is bbc news, i'm reeta chakrabarti. the headlines at four... prince charles leads the uk in remembrance, as locked—down communities fell silent for two minutes to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the second world war in europe. victory in europe was announced on this day in 1945 by the prime minister, sir winston churchill. winston churchill: this is. . .your victory! in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. in paris, president macron laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. and german chancellor,

angela merkel, laid a wreath at the new guardhouse memorial in berlin. the red arrows flew over central london, and there were fly—pasts in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast. as events take place at home and online to pay tribute, some communities are still managing to hold socially distanced celebrations. in other news, there's to be limited easing of lockdown restrictions in wales with people able to exercise more than once a day and garden centres re—opening. at five, we'll bring today's coronavirus briefing from downing street, led by the environment secretary, george eustice.

a two—minute silence has been held across the united kingdom to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ve day. events are taking place all day, but public gatherings have been cancelled as the country remains in lockdown because of coronavirus. victory in europe day marks the day in 1945 when britain and its allies accepted the unconditional surrender of nazi germany, bringing the war in europe to an end. the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall led the silence from balmoral, and the queen will address the nation this evening. our first report is from our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. in the streets largely deserted due to the lockdown, britain remembered and gave thanks for the day when the second world war in europe came to an end. the nation's tribute was led by the prince of wales with the duchess of cornwall at the war memorial on the balmoral estate.

a cannon at edinburgh castle marked the start of a two—minute silence and carefully managed moments of remembrance across the nation. at balmoral, as the silence ended, the prince of wales laid his wreath in tribute to the second world war generation which overcome the tyranny of nazi germany. the cost had been high. nearly 400,000 members of britain's armed services lost their lives in the second world war, and a further 60,000 civilians.

over the white cliffs near dover, two spitfires, the wartime fighter aircraft which played such a key role in the defence of britain, flying today in remembrance of the few, linking the communities over which they flew with the events of 75 years ago. keeping watch is a man who led the english to victory in an earlier time. his column stands at the very centre of the commonwealth of nations. crowds below him, rejoicing day and night. on this day in 1945, many tens of thousands of people took to the streets in joyous celebration that the war in europe was over. the contrast with those same streets today is striking. mass commemorations have been made impossible, but the nation's remembrance has been made all the more poignant by the coronavirus losses.

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. we remember the millions of people from across the united kingdom, from across the world, who came together in world war ii to fight for our shared values. values of freedom, of democracy, of peace. 75 years after the end of the second world war, a nation in lockdown looked beyond its present challenges to give thanks. thanks which will be expressed tonight in a special broadcast by the queen. nicholas witchell, bbc news. events are planned throughout the uk today, but the commemorations are taking a different tone, with large gatherings cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic and people urged to celebrate at home. but that's not preventing the

occasion from being marked in style. duncan kennedy reports from portsmouth. last post plays. names, real people, lives lost, hope to come. staring out from the portsmouth naval memorial, the list of some of those who couldn't come back and celebrate ve day. this morning, they made their absence felt on this national day of commemoration. i think our veterans need to be reminded how thankful we are for what they have achieved and what they have done. i think it's also important to let them know they still inspire us today from that generation. off the coast of dover,

where spitfires and hurricanes once defended the nation, the red arrows soared over, thrilling those below. in rutland, 96—year—old second world war glider veteran ken 0dell marking his own silence in his own way. # we're going to hang out the washing on the siegfried line... with today's two—minute silence came the first of the nationwide street parties. this was chester. coronavirus was not part of the planned ve day events, so here and everywhere, celebration has come with safety. this street would normally be having a big street party anyway, so why don't we try and do something here? we waited until after the nhs clapped, we'd had a drink, and i said, who fancies some singing? at wallington in surrey, they are getting ready for their party. up goes the bunting to connect

with the nation's mood of gratitude and relief at war‘s end. i think the sacrifices people made back in 1939—45, without them we wouldn't be living in the world we live in today. this is a special moment — shared, collective. 0n ve day, winston churchill said, "even if it is a hard struggle, we will not be the ones who fail." we didn't fail. and now we mark that perseverance, determination and will to overcome. the second world war wasn't only fought abroad — there were huge contributions to the war effort on home soil, and many women found themselves in drastically different situations from their pre—war lives. the women's land army saw more than 200,000 women move into crucial

agriculturaljobs throughout the second world war and beyond. let's speak now to cherish watton. cherish works at independent research group uk in a changing europe, but she has for a number of years researched as a women's land army historian. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. the women's land army must have been an extraordinary shift for some women, because initially they we re some women, because initially they were asked to volunteer, but from 1941, they were conscripted and had no choice. it was a real significant change for women, many of them having worked in jobs that did not require lots of hard, physical, strenuous labour. it was incredibly ha rd strenuous labour. it was incredibly hard work, and a massive change in lifestyle for many hard work, and a massive change in lifestyle for ma ny la nd hard work, and a massive change in lifestyle for many land girls. they moved to the country, some not even knowing how to milk a cow before and told to just go and do it,

knowing how to milk a cow before and told tojust go and do it, so it was an incredible change. and what other sorts of challenges did they face in the land army? well, the challenges they faced was from farmers in the farming community who were initially concerned about whether women would actually be up for the task of doing ha rd actually be up for the task of doing hard farm work and working in the forests. they were not actually sure if women were up for it. over time, women really did amazing work on the land and proved they could help increase their food production. land and proved they could help increase theirfood production. at the beginning of the war, we were importing so much of our food, but we we re importing so much of our food, but we were 70% sufficient by the end. —— self—sufficient. we were 70% sufficient by the end. -- self-sufficient. and that is a large part by their efforts. yes, and there was resilience in learning these agricultural skills which they did not know before. is there are lot of written testimony from women of those times? yes, we have a lot

of those times? yes, we have a lot of memoirs that are being published by women. we also obviously have oral history interviews, and we also have incredible documents from the time. there is a magazine called the land girl which has lots of letters and insights from women in the war, sharing what they were doing, so there is a rich source body. and did women come to enjoy their work or where they are resentful, or was it a mixture? and it was a mixture, with lots of women recounting their times in the land army is the best in their lives. it is a chance for independence, to move away and learn new skills, but equally some women we re new skills, but equally some women were incredibly isolated and lonely, and sometimes they did not get on very well with the farmers they were living with, so it really was a mixture. 0bviously, women today, they still do suffer from the effects on their body from the result of the hard work they were carrying out. which they will have been and used to. of course, it is

ve day today. it is a day of commemoration, and that day may the 81945 will have been the start of a huge change for many those women. 81945 will have been the start of a huge change for many those womenm was obviously a range of emotions. 0bviously, amazing happiness but also a sense of reflection and sadness as well for land girls who had lost family members and loved ones during the war. but it is important to remember that the woman's land army continued right up until november 1950. we still needed to have a good supply of food. of course. really interesting, really good to talk to you. thank you so much. that is on that women's land army. 0n ve day, the queen — or princess elizabeth, as she was then known, was 19 years old. four decades later, she described her experiences of that day, in a bbc broadcast. the royal family has just released that audio file on their social media channels, and we can listen to that now. i remember the thrill and relief

after the previous day's waiting for the prime minister to make an announcement of the end of the war in europe. my parents went out on the balcony and responded to the huge crowds outside. i think we went on the balcony nearly every hour, six times. and then, when the excitement of the flood lights being switched on got through to us, my sister and i realised we couldn't see what the crowds were enjoying. my mother had put her tiara on for the occasion, so we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. i remember we were terrified of being recognised, so i pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes. we had an officer in the party of around 16 people, and he said he would refuse to be seen in the company of another

officer improperly dressed, so i had to put my cap normally. we cheered the king and queen on the balcony. we then walked miles through the streets. i remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief. i remember the amazement of my cousin, just back from four and a half years in a prisoner of warcamp. he walked freely with his family in the friendly throng. i also remember when someone exchanged hats with a dutch sailor, coming along with us in order to get his cap back. after crossing green park, we stood outside and shouted,

we want the king! we were successful in seeing my parents on the balcony, having cheated slightly because we sent a message into the house to say we were waiting outside. i think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life. that's the voice of the queen. that has just been released on social media, and she was recalling their emotions, very vividly, on ve day 75 yea rs emotions, very vividly, on ve day 75 years ago. that recording was made yea rs years ago. that recording was made years ago. ve day saw mass celebrations on a scale rarely seen, but as well as signifying the end of the second world war in europe, it also signified a period of enormous change. i'm joined now by alanjeffreys, curator at imperial war museum. just run through some of those enormous changes for us. hello.

basically, so ve day is the beginning of the end of the war, so after that, you have the un charter, pledging to maintain peace. the following month in june. pledging to maintain peace. the following month injune. injuly, the british general election, bringing in the labour government who bring in the welfare state and the nhs. then the following month, the nhs. then the following month, the conference which looks at what europe is going to look like after the war and also the end of the work further afield, and obviously victory over japan day further afield, and obviously victory overjapan day on the 15th of august 1945 when the war is finally over. so so many things still happen. i question people frequently ask is winston churchill had been such a successful war leader, often seen by people as the greatest leader this country has had, and yet he promptly lost the general election that followed the

end of the war in europe. why was that? i think he was seen as extremely good as a world leader, but i think people also wanted sort of social change, and some of that was coming during the war anyway, and there was a coalition government with very impressive labour ministers in it anyway, so they brought that change in the following labour government. that was in 1945 until 51. so just thinking about ordinary people. they had gone through this six years of danger, of deprivation. what was the impact of the end of the war on them?|j deprivation. what was the impact of the end of the war on them? i think even for the british civilians, it could take quite a lot of time to adapt, so there was one chap who it was a civilian in london and he said, his diary is in the museum, and it took him awhile to stop putting out his sits just case of emergency, and for his wife not to

put everything in her bag, and that took a few weeks just after the war. that would go across for soldiers returning, some of whom had not been home. there was out in southeast asia for example had not been home for years, so it took quite a lot of readjustment back to civilian life. because certain people, some actions had become automatic, and for others, it was a question of returning to ordinary life. was the relationship between men and women changed? i'm not really sure. i think people coming back, it took to adjust. for example, ithink think people coming back, it took to adjust. for example, i think there we re adjust. for example, i think there were more divorced cases in 1947, 60,000 apparently, which is a lot more than 1945. there were things like that. i think everybody found

it difficult to adjust back to civilian life. the strain of things, telling. the day itself, may eight, 1945, is well documented. what are some of the most striking moments of that day for you? it is the huge crowds across london and the west end, and the queen mentioned earlier, absolutely incredible thousands across outside buckingham palace, the west end, in westminster, following winston churchill, going from when he goes from the houses of parliament to buckingham palace and back to westminster again. just incredible scenes, and we can see them today, both in black—and—white and in colour, so it's absolutely iconic. it is very much ve day we remember, because as you say, there was another three or four months of war in the far east, so what was the impact of the end of that war in

britain? i don't think it was celebrated does make well it was celebrated, vj day, there was a holiday, but not to same extent as ve day. and it also, i mean, there we re ve day. and it also, i mean, there were soldiers who were actually still fighting after that. in saigon and indonesia. propping up the colonial empires there, which i think is perhaps not quite does make it is quite forgotten about. we are going to have to leave it there, so thank you very much. while many people think of conscription in terms of armed forces being sent abroad, many were conscripted to help the war effort on home soil. men enlisted to work in the mines — or bevin boys as they became known — faced jail if they didn't accept the call up, but despite risking their lives, they were considered civilians and are sometimes considered

"the forgotten conscripts". i'm joined now by a former bevin boy — les raymond. also on the line is barbara mcelroy, archivist for the bevin boys association who is also les' daughter. thank you both very much indeed for joining us here at bbc news. if i can joining us here at bbc news. if i ca n start joining us here at bbc news. if i can start with you, layers, tell us more about becoming a bevin boy. when did you become one and what was your feeling about it? my feelings we re your feeling about it? my feelings were not very good at all. i went for a medical in 1944, about six weeks before christmas. i passed a one, was told again i would be accepted into the army, and six weeks later, i had papers come through to say that i had been

selected by that ballot for the gold miners. —— coal miners. so that is my story on that. and you were not expecting that at all? not at all, no. i was really shocked, the whole family where. i had done three and a half years... sorry? what family where. i had done three and a half years. .. sorry? what were those yea rs half years. .. sorry? what were those years like, three and have years doing that sort of work, how did you find it? not very good. is my fun playing up or something? we can hear you loud and clear. keep going. where where we? what was it like? it was damn hard work, and it was all

ha rd graft. at was damn hard work, and it was all hard graft. at that time of the day, there were no machines to help, not to start with anyway. the conditions we re to start with anyway. the conditions were not very good either. but it's not very work, half a mile underground, —— not very nice work, all the dust and all the rubbish. no masks or anything. we did a lot of drilling into the face, so it was on a heading, tunnelling towards a new coalfa ce that a heading, tunnelling towards a new coalface that they want to open up, so it's all sort of rock, solid rock where we were drilling, blasting, and that kicked up a hell of a mess,

and that kicked up a hell of a mess, and dust. you know, very unhealthy. it sounds, layers, like very difficult and dangerous work. —— les. stay on the line as we have your daughter here as well. barbara, your daughter here as well. barbara, you have spent time, you are the archivist for the bevin boys association, and not many people know about the bevin boys, do they? why not? i do not know, the government were not very keen it appeared to tell the public during the war, and there was a misconception that the bevin boys we re misconception that the bevin boys were conscientious objectors, which was not true at all. there were very small number of objectors, but the vast majority we have heard were conscripted and had no choice but to go down. i think somehow, the

governmentjust go down. i think somehow, the government just swept it go down. i think somehow, the governmentjust swept it under the carpet a bit, and they were never really recognised for what they did. and i think you have said that people were sometimes quite rude to them. yes. really, the attitudes we re them. yes. really, the attitudes were not good, because they never met them in uniform, they remained civilians, and then when they went out of the mining areas, there was nothing to show that these young men, strapping young men usually, where bevin boys working for the war effort, and people could be very rude. i know of bevin boys who were handed white feathers, which was actually a first world were thing for cowardice. people spat at them, they would not should serve them in shops, people would ask why they we re shops, people would ask why they were not fighting like their son. a good strapping lad like you. when they were travelling, they were not

allowed to use the w rbs, so they we re allowed to use the w rbs, so they were not treated well. as we heard from your father, the work they did was dangerous. in 1943 when bevin brought in the scheme, one in four we re brought in the scheme, one in four were killed or injured, and we know ofa were killed or injured, and we know of a lot of bevin boys who were killed and injured during the time in the mines. it was not the easy option. of course, they had no choice at all other than prison, and they were very resentful, a lot of them. some of them, like my father, he got on with him as he will say, but a lot of the bevin boys remained resentful, and the fact that the government didn't even thank them at the end, there was no demob suit or anything at all, it was just thank you —— it was not even thank you and goodbye, it was just goodbye. you —— it was not even thank you and goodbye, it wasjust goodbye. they we re goodbye, it wasjust goodbye. they were not recognised by the government for another 60 years.

well, the work you are doing is keeping the memory of what they did alive. i imagine that today, the 75th anniversary of ve day, you would normally have been spending it with your father, but here you are in separate locations. yes, and in fa ct in separate locations. yes, and in fact the british legion had invited the bevin boys tojoin fact the british legion had invited the bevin boys to join them fact the british legion had invited the bevin boys tojoin them in fact the british legion had invited the bevin boys to join them in the celebrations in london, so we were enormously disappointed that obviously that has all been cancelled. yes, we would have been celebrating, as with some of the other bevin boys. les, ifi can come back to you. you must remember this day 75 years ago. can you remember your feelings at the time? not that good, really. you did say ve day,

did you? i did, yes. well, there was not much going on where we wear, we we re not much going on where we wear, we were still working and we did celebrate afterwards at the hostel we lived in, late on celebrations, and that is as far as i can go on that one, really. 0k, thank you, it is good to talk to you and hear your memories of that time. les raymond and barbara mcilroy, thank you very much for that. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz. hello. it is very warm out there today, and the weather's mostly behaving itself. i say mostly because there is a possibility of a few downpours and even a crack of thunder, so do not be surprised. 24 in london, likejune orjuly. 18 degrees in the north. now, the showers will clear eventually. they may last into the evening hours, but after midnight, it is certainly looking clear across many central

and eastern areas of the uk. a bit more cloud towards the west here. then this lump of rain across the very far north, that is a cold front, and that cold front is going to bring a very big change to our weather by sunday. the process starts on saturday. in fact, cloud and rain in scotland, in the north, and much colder, whereas south of the central lowlands on saturday, it is still very warm and sunny with the odd shower. so there is going to be a huge difference between saturday and sunday. take a look at london for example. 24 on saturday, only 15 on sunday.

this is bbc news. the headlines: prince charles leads the uk in remembrance. victory in europe was announced on this day in 1945 by the prime minister, sir winston churchill. winston churchill: this is...your victory! in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. cheers in paris, president macron laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. and german chancellor, angela merkel, led