The Ruth Gorse Academy VE Day Activities

The Ruth Gorse Academy

                       VE Day Activities

Contents:

  •   Recreating Churchill’s iconic speech
  •   Online activities you can take part in, including:
         o Researching your family’s military history
         o Viewing the National Army Collections
         o Watching the key iconic moments from history around WW2 and
            VE Day
         o Listening to the soundscape created by the Imperial Warm Museum
            on 8 May
  •   VE Day celebration recipes to recreate
  •   Designing your own non alcoholic drink to toast VE Day and commemorate
      those who fought in the Wars
  •   Recreate VE Day bunting
  •   Design your own VE Day medal
  •   Try to learn some old famous songs
  •   Learn how to dance the Lindy Hop (in the English Heritage Pack)

Churchill’s VE Day Speech to the people of Britain

      On the next page you have a copy of the speeches Churchill made to

      the people of Britain on the 8th May 1945 to mark the VE Day

      Celebrations.

Can you write a more modern version of this speech that not only talks about the
75th Anniversary celebration but also builds in how the British public are still
celebrating the fallen war heroes while the nation is in lockdown?

After his 8 May 1945 radio broadcast the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, spoke twice to the crowds in

Whitehall.

"God bless you all. This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our

long history we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best.

Everyone has tried. Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in

any way weakened the independent resolve of the British nation. God bless you all…”

"My dear friends, this is your hour. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It's a victory of the great

British nation as a whole. We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny.

After a while we were left all alone against the most tremendous military power that has been seen. We

were all alone for a whole year.

"There we stood, alone. Did anyone want to give in? Were we down-hearted? The lights went out and the

bombs came down. But every man, woman and child in the country had no thought of quitting the struggle.

London can take it. So we came back after long months from the jaws of death, out of the mouth of hell,

while all the world wondered. When shall the reputation and faith of this generation of English men and

women fail?

"I say that in the long years to come not only will the people of this island but of the world, wherever the

bird of freedom chirps in human hearts, look back to what we've done and they will say 'do not despair, do

not yield to violence and tyranny, march straightforward and die if need be-unconquered.'

"Now we have emerged from one deadly struggle – a terrible foe has been cast on the ground and awaits

our judgment and our mercy. But there is another foe who occupies large portions of the British Empire, a

foe stained with cruelty and greed – the Japanese. I rejoice we can all take a night off today and another

day tomorrow.

"Tomorrow our great Russian allies will also be celebrating victory and after that we must begin the task of

rebuilding our health and homes, doing our utmost to make this country a land in which all have a chance, in

which all have a duty, and we must turn ourselves to fulfil our duty to our own countrymen, and to our

gallant allies of the United States who were so foully and treacherously attacked by Japan.

Online activities you can take part in:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks2-ve-day/z7xtmfr Short
Video Clip that explains what VE and VJ Day is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEavcsrMoMw&feature=emb_logo VE Day London
1945

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efvwJjzqKUk Churchill’s Speech- unconditional
Surrender of Germany

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/victory On the 8th May the Imperial War Museum will
be celebrating VE Day with A focal point of Voices of War. IWM is asking households
to take a moment on Bank Holiday Friday 8 May, the 75th anniversary of VE Day, to
play a four-minute soundscape featuring first-hand accounts of VE Day selected from
IWM’s vast sound archive. You will be able to listen to the soundscape on the IWM
website.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/research/tracing-your-family-history Do you have family
members that fought in the war? Use the archives at the Imperial War Museum to see
if you can trace your family history.

https://www.nam.ac.uk/collections Explore the National Army Museum Collections
online

VE Day Celebration Recipes

On Friday 8th May we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. During the Covid-19 lockdown as a nation we will be holding a 2 minutes
silence on our doorsteps at 11am.

During the first VE Day celebrations in 1945 there were many toasts made during street parties to celebrate the end of WW2 but also to
commemorate all those who lost their lives in the war effort.

Task:

Design your own drink that you can make with your families that you can have to toast all those who fought for victory.

                                 Name:
                                                                                                                Name:

                                 Ingredients:
                                                                                                                Ingredients:

Design a 75th Anniversary VE Day Medal

2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, on 8th May 1945, World War II ended in Europe. On their return
home Service men and women were given a medal.

Can you design a medal to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day. Make sure you label it and explain why
you have picked the colours you have in your design.