Despite moving May Bank Holiday from a Monday to a Friday, and with 75 years’ worth of opportunity to plan, no-one could have predicted that the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe would have to be done in lockdown. So, although sadly there won’t be a street party in sight we would still like to mark that event with some commemorative articles and resources.

We have a new film from a Second World War veteran that we manged to record just before the restrictions were brought in, and through his story you can begin to understand some of the realities of the Second World War and why its end was so important.

Mervyn Kersh was a young man from South London whose army service included arriving into Normandy in the first few days of the invasion, crossing the Rhine and being a British Jewish serviceman in Germany when the war ended. This film will be made available later this week.

Also, as part of our marking of VE Day there is an article exploring its significance that was in the last edition of HA News, along with some other pieces that you might find interesting at this time.

We have also published a free home learning resource about VE Day and WW2, aimed particularly at primary-age children, their parents and teachers.