VE Day in West Sussex in 1945 was celebrated with great gusto

As the armies of liberation progressed through occupied Europe en route to Berlin, at home coastal defences were gradually removed, tenders being invited for the demolition of the dragons teeth and pill boxes which had been so feverishly constructed in 1940.

At Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor, barbed wire was cleared away from the promenade, giving some small children their first glimpse of an unobstructed seafront, though the beaches still had to be cleared of mines. The formal German surrender was taken by General Montgomery at his Luneburg Heath HQ, near Hamburg, on May 4, 1945. In Britain, Tuesday, May 8, was declared a public holiday, VE (Victory in Europe) Day.

The excitement really began the evening before. As the news broke of the end of the war in Europe, the hawkers were out on street corners with flags and bunting and everywhere streamers and ‘God save the King’ banners suddenly appeared.

Every shop put out its decorations and public houses began to prepare themselves for the influx of merrymakers. People had been waiting so long for the moment and on to the streets they spilled, cheering and singing, slapping each other on the back, ready to drink the health of Mr Churchill.

Roll Out the Barrel and We Won’t Go Home Till Morning were popular songs. The threat to freedom had vanished and everywhere there was an impatience to find expression for the mood of gratitude and relief.

In West Sussex, the day dawned with dull skies but spirits were not to be dampened and the weather improved.

In Worthing, the Town Hall in Chapel Road was at the centre of celebrations with a purple and gold covered dais for the VIPs. At 11 am a fanfare by Arthur Fotterell, trumpeter of the Municipal Orchestra, preceded the singing of a doxology (short hymn) by the crowd and a speech by the Mayor, Councillor H.W. Shalders.

In the town centre, particularly South Street and Montague Place, crowds gathered, with servicemen and civilians alike laughing and dancing together. Others perched perilously on Army trucks as they drove around streets to ensure no-one missed the news or the party atmosphere.

At 3pm most people clustered around the loudspeakers on the Town Hall to hear Winston Churchill’s speech, described by Joan Strange as a highlight. Following this, buglers of the Scots Guards sounded the Cease Fire, the National Anthem was sung with gusto and the town centre and seafront became awash with masses of people singing and cheering.

The celebrations took many forms, churches and cinemas remained open for services and programmes for most of the day. One of the most popular were the informal street parties in the afternoon as rationing was forgotten for the day.

All tickets for the Victory Ball at the Assembly Hall were snapped up in minutes and 700 people danced the night away to Tom Priddy’s Municipal Orchestra. At 9pm, the mayor arrived and a hush fell as everyone listened to the King’s speech, another highlight enjoyed by Joan Strange.

Pubs had extended licensing hours till midnight and many ran out of beer. There wasn’t as much drunkenness as might be imagined, however, as alcohol had been in short supply throughout the war.

Similar celebrations were held in towns and villages along the coast, including Littlehampton. People living in Sandfield Avenue in Wick were determined to make the most of the day. Not only did they hold a street party in the afternoon but ended the day with a victory bonfire featuring an inventive Nazi swastika guy.

Elsewhere in the county the citizens of Chichester were up early, putting the finishing touches to their decorations and busying themselves with arrangements for the afternoon parties.

The Chichester Post reported that the city was bedecked with flags and banners as the Prime Minister’s 3pm speech was broadcast from the Cross. In the evening, the City Band played at the Cross and celebrations continued until the early hours.

In Horsham, bells rang out from Horsham Parish Church and services of celebration and reflection were held there and in all Nonconformist churches, including one for peace at the Christian Science Society.

As the morning progressed, all towns became awash with masses of people singing and cheering. In the town centre crowds gathered, with servicemen and civilians alike laughing and dancing together. Others perched perilously on Army trucks as they drove around the street to ensure no-one missed the news or the party atmosphere. An open-air Service of Thanksgiving, held in Horsham Park on Wednesday, the day after VE Day, attracted more than 1,000 people.

In Haywards Heath on VE Day morning, an unusual service of thanksgiving for victory, and prayers for those still fighting against Japan, was held at the cattle market.

In Burgess Hill, a centrepiece of VE Day was Churchill’s speech at 3pm relayed by loudspeaker outside the council offices to huge crowds. Many stayed on to dance and sing the afternoon away to amplified gramophone records. The festivities carried on through the afternoon with street parties for children, and well into the night with house parties and a dance at St John’s Institute. Finally, bonfires and fireworks lit up many parts of the town, all of which, as the Mid-Sussex Times reported, “would have made an ARP warden blink with dismay a few months ago!”

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