Looking backward and forward
It is interesting to see how widely the 80th anniversary of VE Day has been celebrated, particularly in the UK but elsewhere too. There seems to have been a collective understanding that this year is important, despite the fact that 80 is not an overly significant number – although that might just be the bellringer in me saying that.
There are lots of motivations for making this year special, and the cynic in me says that some of them are political and economic. But there is also a realisation that our cultural memory is fast fading away: notice that there are fewer and fewer WWII veterans still with us; or that the King was not born until after VE Day. This is likely to be one of our last opportunities to mark the occasion while VE Day can still be considered ‘within living memory’.
How do we address that concern? With public displays of commemoration and celebration, in which bells play an important part. It was encouraging that this year’s events seemed rooted in local communities, as attested to by the wide variety of ringing recorded and reported.
In Haverhill, we hosted an event in church, organised by the Town Council in consultation with the local History Group and Royal British Legion. It retold the story of VE Day, including some pertinent local stories, alongside live music from choirs and bands. The invitation even told people to come half an hour before the event to listen to a ‘medley of changes’ [their words] on the bells!
But I was keen that the event did not just tell a story of the past. It had to celebrate the present and look to the future too. We did that by involving the various musical groups and encouraging people to support these wonderful community ventures. We also ensured that there was a diversity of voices at the event, including from our twin town of Ehringshausen in Germany, and from Haverhill, MA with whom we also have links. And we reminded people that VJ Day is just around the corner, which for many people in Suffolk who tended to have loved ones commissioned in the Far East is perhaps the more significant day.
With much uncertainty about peace at the moment, in Europe and beyond, it was good to be able to celebrate peace alongside those who make a positive contribution to today’s society. But we did so in a way that was honest and open about our concerns that peace always has been fragile, and not without its shadow sides, and always will be.
When we ‘ring out’ for peace, we do so knowing that we play our part in expressing the emotions and sentiments of the communities of which we are a part. That sound is an optimistic one, a hopeful one, and an honest one.
Max Drinkwater