VE Day is here, and we are taking a look back at how Worcestershire celebrated victory in Europe 75 years ago.

In Malvern large crowds lined the streets for the victory parade, which included Allied Services, Civil Defence organisations and youth organisations.

After the parade, which saw the salute taken by Major WJC Kendall, chair of the Urban District Council, a service was held in Priory Park, conducted by the Reverend J. Holland, chaplain of HMS Duke.

Meanwhile, a VE Day bonfire was built on the Worcestershire Beacon. Frederick Beard, who helped build it, told the Gazette in 2015: “I was 16 or 17 then, and I belonged to the Malvern Scouts. They picked a group of us and we hauled railway sleepers and faggots of wood up to the top of the beacon. It took us two or three days to build it.

“On the night, I remember it was very cold and windy, and there were quite a few people up there. We were glad of the fire because of the cold.”

In Worcester, citizens greeted the news in fine form on May 8 in 1945, with streetlights being turned on for the first time since 1939.

When the Cathedral floodlights were switched on, the crowd went wild, with cheering and whistling as 3,000 people gathered at 10.30pm.

At the Cross, hundreds of people danced in the streets and fireworks were let off outside The Guildhall.

Later in the week, crowds lined the streets in the centre of the city on Sunday, May 13, to see the Mayor of Worcester, Frank Bullock, attend a thanksgiving service at the cathedral in the morning.

In the afternoon, residents once again took to the streets to see the victory parade of civil and military defence services.

The service, held on Pitchcroft, featured around 10,000 people, about 3,000 or 4,000 of which were taking part in the parade, which was formed by members of the Home Guard, RAF, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, Auxiliary Territorial Service, police, army cadets, sea and air cadets, air raid wardens and ambulance services to name just a few.

The parade then formed a square and the band of 1st Battalion, the Worcestershire Regiment accompanied the hymns led by bandmaster G.S Bixley.

The mayor then called those gathered at Pitchcroft to prayer and thanksgiving for the victory, being joined by his chaplain, George Wallace Briggs and chief constable E.W Tinkler and town clerk C.H Digby Seymour.

The assembled parade then proceeded from Pitchcroft through Castle Street, Foregate Street, The Cross and the High Street, saluting Lt Col J.F Edwards of the South Wales Borderers.

More than 2,000 people attended the service at Worcester Cathedral, which was conducted by the Dean of the cathedral Dr Arthur Davies.

The bidding prayer thanked God “for deliverance from the hand of our enemies, for the devotion, even to death, of those who for five years past have stood between us and slavery, and the hopes of a better world for all His people.”

There were also special services in other city churches.

St George’s Catholic Church held a special High Mass, concluding with the Te Deum and God Save the King.

Angel Street Church held a special thanksgiving service where the Revered W.J Ashford paid tribute to the brave servicemen and women who had contributed to the victory.

After saying this, he said the period of rejoicing would soon be over, with more effort required for the defeat of Japan and liberation of East Asia.

In Droitwich, 400 members of the ATS and their drummers paraded for an early morning service at St Nicholas’ Church conducted by the rector Reverend A.H Lewis.

After the service, the salute was taken outside St Andrew’s Brine Baths.

In Evesham, the High Street was crowded with a victory parade including members of the Army, RAF and Civil Defence units, who marched to All Saints’ and St Lawrence’s churches for a thanksgiving service led by the Reverend Charles Jones.

The Evesham Journal reported that throughout May 8 and 9, the streets were full of people: “A large majority of whom wore buttonholes or rosettes of red, white and blue. Many of the girls were wearing new dressed embodying red, white and blue in their design.

“When darkness began to fall, hundreds of lights in the town flashed on. All the street lighting standards were as pre-war days and many of the shops left on their signs and floodlights.”