Sunday Mercury joins VE Day ceremony in London

May 16 2010 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

THEY stood shoulder to shoulder, saluting those who gave their lives for our freedom.

No, not David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown, although they were there, looking for all the world like the three wise monkeys.

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, hardly the politician’s mantra in the 21st century.

Pride of place in London’s Whitehall went instead to veterans recalling the end of the war in Europe, VE Day, 65 years ago.

And after a solemn Cenotaph service attended by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the party began.

In a marquee set up in Horse Guards Parade, members of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra turned back the clock, a NAAFI van served snacks, sharp-suited spivs worked the crowd, watched by old-fashioned beat bobbies.

In the tent, Prince Charles moved from group to group, stopping to chat about the wartime experiences of the guests. Mr Cameron pressed the flesh in anticipation of his ascension; for Mr Brown, it was his last official duty in office.

It was here, of course, that Britain celebrated most loudly on May 8, 1945. And many of those reliving their memories traced the route they took back in the day, from Whitehall up to Trafalgar Square, then on to Piccadilly Circus.

They lingered outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, recalling the appearance of Winston Churchill with the Royal Family. Then recalled how the crowd whisked them away for impromptu song and dance. The war, at long last, was over.

The memories, on the other hand, remain. And history is something that London delivers at every turn.

History in the making, too, as the TV crews camped on College Green, outside the Houses Of Parliament, proved.

We had driven down from Birmingham on the Saturday, arriving in the capital a couple of hours before the service. Parking is usually at a premium, but a little internet research beforehand took us straight to the Abingdon car park in Westminster.