When the war in Europe ended, my dad was stationed at a
transit camp in Sidney, Australia waiting for onward transport to join his unit in the British Pacific Fleet.
He wrote in his diary:
On Tuesday 8th
May 1945 the newspapers were head-lined "It’s all over in Europe" and
gave histories of the last five years.
Flags were flying in
Sydney but no crowds surged through the streets. We made sure our rooms were
booked at the British Centre and went for a drink to celebrate Victory. A
couple of drunken sailors were the only signs of the momentous day it was.
At seven o’clock we
were steaming out of Central Station just as the city began to warm up and
celebrate. Australian trains are horrible. They are uncomfortable, slow,
draughty and Heaven knows what else, in fact not a patch on the good old L.M.S.
[London, Midland and Scottish Railway.]
The only interesting
part of the journey was an old man of 83 who got on at Penorth and who had
emigrated here when he was 19. He had many interesting stories of the old days.
We arrived at
Katoomba, highest point in the Blue Mountains about 10p.m. and after eating –
the inevitable steak – got to our hotel just in time to hear Churchill’s
speech.
Soon we were in bed, well
wrapped up as this is very much colder than Sydney.
I found this clip of Churchill's speech on Youtube. I
thought it was interesting that as well as announcing the end of the war in
Europe Churchill went on to talk about the Japanese threat in the Pacific.
At the time of VE Day the war in the Pacific against Japan
wasn't regarded as particularly important by the British public or indeed the
majority of Britain's serving men and women. The Government propaganda machine
had to work hard to persuade people to support the Pacific War.
My dad was a radio mechanic in the Fleet Air Arm of the
Royal Navy. He travelled on a troop ship from Liverpool via the Panama Canal to
Australia. The journey took about four weeks. He had to wait in Sidney, Australia
for a further six weeks before he sailed on HMS Arbiter to Ponam Island, a tiny
coral island about 2000 miles north of Australia. His unit was based on Ponam Island providing back-up for the British Pacific Fleet.
There are some more photos of Ponam Island if
you follow this link.
