We come together this morning as a community to pay our respects on Remembrance Sunday. 

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The most lethal and devastating conflict in history, it touched every continent, involved millions of people and its legacy is still felt today.

VE Day is a day remembered by all who witnessed it. After nearly six years of war, German forces unconditionally surrendered on 7th May, 1945, and the conflict in Europe was finally over.

This news had been anticipated as the Allies advanced through Germany, and the official announcement was broadcast to the British people on the evening of 7th May with a news flash proclaiming that the next day would be a national holiday VE Day, Victory in Europe.

Across the Allied world, millions celebrated, relieved that years of conflict and extraordinary hardship were finally coming to an end. Yet the news provoked mixed emotions for those who had lost loved ones during the war, and for those worried about friends and family still serving and fighting overseas.

While VE Day marked the beginning of the end of the Second World War, millions were still involved in the fighting that raged in the Far East and Pacific, and many troops stationed in Europe were redeployed to the east instead of going home.

Britain and the Commonwealth’s principal fighting force, the 14th Army, was one of the most diverse in history: over 40 languages were spoken, and all the world’s major religions represented. They achieved success in liberating Burma, but at great cost.

The descendants of many of the Commonwealth veterans of that army are today part of communities throughout the country: a lasting legacy of the success and comradeship of those who fought in the east, and other theatres of war.

Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) on 15th August, 1945, marked the Japanese surrender, which in effect ended the Second World War, and was greeted with jubilation in the Allied nations.

The Second World War profoundly shaped our modern world, helping to foster global cooperation and establish institutions like the United Nations.

Everyone in Britain today will have a connection to those who served during the Second World War, either through their family or community heritage.

We thank all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and those who are left behind so we can live our lives as we do today.

On 15^th October 1940, 84 years ago, R.A.F 501 Squadron took off from Kenley Airfield to take part in the Battle of Britain. Flight Sargeant Stanley Fenemore was shot down crashing his MKI Hawker Hurricane Aircraft at Posterngate Farm, South Godstone, aged just 20 years old.

For those who leave never to return

For those who return but are never the same

We remember

Thank you