Delight at the war’s end, cheering and singing from soldiers and relief have been among the emotions around Victory in Europe Day brought to light through a appeal.
Local Radio in the Midlands, in partnership with the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, asked the public earlier this year for letters sent from the front lines and the home front.
Dozens of people answered the call and 12 were eventually selected to become part of an exhibition at the arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.
As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, here is a flavour of some of them:
Pleasure at VE Day news
Bernard Morgan, now 101, from Crewe, in Cheshire, joined the RAF when he was 18.
He completed a code and cypher course in 1943 and was posted to 83 Group Control Centre.
Mr Morgan, whose family comes from Chester, was a front-line code operator as his unit moved across Europe and was based in Schneverdingen, north Germany when the war on the continent ended.
He received a telegram on 6 May 1945 telling him the war would soon be over but was urged to keep the knowledge to himself.
Part of the message reads: “The German War is now over.
“At Rheims last night the instrument of surrender was signed which in effect is a surrender of all personnel of the German forces all equipment and shipping and all machinery in Germany.”
Reflecting on the message 80 years later, Mr Morgan, said: “I was so pleased to get it because, like all of us, we all wanted to get back home… but you can’t do it overnight.”
He met the Princess of Wales on Monday as part of VE Day commemorations at Buckingham Palace.
‘A great day of celebration’
John James Woodman was born on 1 July 1919 in the Aston area of Birmingham.
He was called up in 1939 and joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.
In 1944, he was transferred to the Royal Engineers and served in various locations overseas.
Mr Woodman was orphaned when he was 15 and the letters he wrote were mainly to his aunt Alice and uncle Gregory, who lived in Coaley.
The letter his family shared was written to them on 15 November 1945, when he was hoping to hear details of his return from Africa back to England.
The letter has a focus on the end of the war and looking towards the future.
Mr Woodman describes the arrival of a ship, taking a number of soldiers back to England: “It was a grand sight to see all the lights on and everyone cheering and singing… as she put her nose out to the happy journey home.”
His daughter Lynn Masters said, after sharing the letter, that “it must have been a great day of celebration for them all”.
‘Just an ordinary guy’
Philip Kempe, born in Reading, Berkshire, in 1918, joined the Royal Navy in 1935 and served until 1948, reaching the rank of petty officer.
In 1940 he met Grace Kingston while they were in Warwickshire in Rugby town centre, when he asked Grace for directions and their love blossomed from there.
The letter used in the exhibition is one of many sent between the two of them between 1940 and 1948 – when Mr Kempe left the service.
The message was written on 1 May 1945 and, in it, Grace mentions some news she had heard on the radio, and his family think she was referring to the death of Adolf Hitler.
Philip’s son Ian said: “He was just an ordinary guy.
“It’s hard to imagine him doing all the stuff he did for the Navy, Russian convoys and in the Mediterranean.”
After the war, Mr Kempe lived in Rugby and worked for a telecommunications company in Coventry.
Charles William Morris was in the Royal Irish Fusiliers, when he was 19, from 28 January 1942.
He was sent to Girvan, Scotland, in October 1942 before they left for north Africa by ship in December 1942.
The letter his family shared is between Charles and Betty McCrindle. They met when Betty was nearly 16 and working in a hairdresser.
The pair wrote to each other for nearly three years while Mr Morris was away and finally married on 24 October 1945.
This letter was written in Austria on 2 May 1945 – Mr Morris expresses his love for Betty and tells her that he has her photo framed over his bed.
He talked about his relief that the war was over and how he hoped not to be sent to fight in Japan.
“The Jerries have just left things, they bombed everywhere, knocked everything about. It’s the worst place since north Africa,” he wrote.
His daughter Anne Jelves, who lives in Leicester, said: “I always knew there was a box of letters… after dad died I couldn’t bear to read them at first.
“When I did they were really interesting.”
Nicholas “Nic” Spruyt worked as a trader in Borough Market, near London Bridge, during the war.
In 1939, his wife Marjorie and their children travelled away from London, seeking safety from the bombings of the Blitz.
The mail was their main means of keeping in touch with each other and, after they died in the 1970s, their children found a large box of their letters.
Dated 5 May 1945, the exhibition letter is from Beverwijk in the Netherlands and was sent to Nic from a stranger – British soldier Leslie Middleton.
The civilian post was not working, so Nic’s sister had asked the soldier to write through the military post to let him know she was safe and well.
His grandson Simon Hobbs, from Derbyshire, said: “A lot of the letters are very moving… they combine the domestic with details of the war.”
The exhibition runs at the National Memorial Arboretum until 16 November 2025.
