GLAD REJOICING IN LONDON

Southland Times, Issue 25668, 10 May 1945, Page 3

GLAD REJOICING IN LONDON

Unrestricted Scenes Of Joy (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, May 8. One of the most notable incidents of the day was the King’s reception of Mr Churchill and members of the War Cabinet at Buckingham Palace in the Bow Room, every window of which was smashed by a flying bomb several months ago. The three Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Field-Marshal Sir Alan Brooke and Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir Charles Portal, were also present. Mr Churchill, happily humming a little tune to himself, went jauntily up the steps from the palace lawn into the Bow Room. Then, when his Majesty had congratulated* the Ministers, he led the way outside where photographs were taken. The King, wearing naval .uniform, but bare-headed, stood with Mr Churchill on his right and the Minister of Labour, Mr Bevin, on his left and with others grouped around. The crowd outside the Palace gradually grew into a multitude. A close guard was kept at the Palace gates and police on foot, on horses and in cars kept the approaches clear. Mr Churchill, in a black civilan suit, lunched with the King and Queen at I the Palace. . The crowd gave him a I great cheer as he arrived. Sightseers • broke across the road when his open : car appeared. The car proceeded and travelled at little more than a snail s pace, winding its way to the gates through lanes of people. Mr Churchill sat in the car, smiling broadly and radiantly happy. He continually gave the V sign in acknowledgment of his reception. Great crowds blocked the front of the gates when Mr Churchill, after lunching with the King and Queen left the Palace by the garden entrance a little before 1 p.m. The King and Queen and two PnnI cesses heard Mr Churchill’s historic announcement in their private apartments in the Palace. Thousands heard the broadcast over loud-speakers erect- ' ed in the fore court. Resounding cheers followed the Prime Minister’s closing words. The crowds began to call for the King, and cheered wildly as his 1 Majesty walked out on to the central balcony, which was draped with scarlet and gold. CHEERS ACKNOWLEDGED The King stood for a few seconds alone, waving to the crowd. Then the Queen joined him, and acknowledged the deafening cheers: The two Princesses then came out on to the balcony. Princess Elizabeth in a khaki A.T.S. uniform stood beside the Queen. Princess Margaret stood _ beside her father. Hats were flung into the air and flags of the Allied nations waved in the breeze as the crowd sang the national anthem and then “For They Are Jolly Good Fellows.” The Royal family remained on the balcbny for four minutes, smiling happily, and waving to the crowd. Their Majesties and the Princesses made a second appearance on the balcony at a quarter past four and were greeted with tumultuous cheers and flagwaving. The crowd at the palace burst into frenzied applause when Their Majesties with the Princesses made their third appearance on the balcony, this time with Mr Churchill, who stood between Their Majesties and waved his cigar and gave the V sign. Mr Churchill was the last to leave the balcony. He was given a special cheer and disappeared | with the crowd singing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” Twenty minutes later, surrounded by the war leaders and members of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister was addressing huge Whitehall crowds from the balcony of the Ministry of Health. For some minutes he was only able to wave and give the V sign as the crowd sang patriotic songs. VICTORY OF FREEDOM At last the crowd quietened and, speaking into a microphone, Mr Churchill said: “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 bit. Neither the long years nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy have in any way weakened the unbending resolve of the British nation. God bless you all.”

Mr Churchill, after the broadcast (from 10 Downing Street, was driven in ! a small sports car to the House of Commons, waving his black hat and smoking the inevitable cigar. Mounted policemen escorted the car through one of the densest crowds ever assembled in Whitehall. The House of Commons was in one of its most spirited moods when Mr Churchill arrived at 3.30 p.m. carrying a slip of paper in his right hand. The House rose as he appeared from behind the Speaker’s chair and members cheered lustily and waved order papers. Visitors in the side galleries and the strangers’ gallery rose to their feet and joined in the, thunderous welcome. Mrs Neville Chamberlain sat beside the Speaker’s wife in one of the side galleries. There were 111 questions to be answered before Mr Churchill was due to make his statement. There was another great roar of cheers when Mr Churchill rose and said he thought it might be convenient if he repeated the official statement he just made over the radio. Loud cheers rang throughout the House at the end of Mr Churchill’s message to the nation. Mr Churchill added: “That is the message I was instructed to divulge to the British nation and Commonwealth. I have only two oi' three sentences to add which will convey to the House my deep gratitude to the Commons which has proved itself the strongest foundation for waging a war that has ever been seen in the whole of our long history. We have all made our mistakes, but the strength of parliamentary institutions have been shown.” Mr Churchill paid a tribute to the liveliness of Parliament, which had been maintained even under enemy fire, and praised British perseverance, which, he said, would have gone on much longer if required. THANKSGIVING SERVICE Mr Churchill, in low and dignified tones, then moved “That the House now attend the Church of St. Margarets to give humble and reverent thanks to Almighty God for our deliverances from the threat of German domination. When the motion was put there was a great cry of “Aye.” The acting Leader of the Labour Party, Mr Arthur Greenwood, crossed the floor and grasped Mr Churchill firmly by the hand. The House of Commons then filed behind the Speaker in a procession to St. Margaret’s. . Lord Woolton read a statement in the House of Lords at the same time as Mr Churchill in the House of Commons, and then moved that the House adjourn to attend the Divine service of thanksgiving. The principal service at St. Paul s, was that at midday. People who worked in the capital for 66 months to help bring victory knelt side-by-side, offering up prayers of thankfulness —civil defence workers who fought to save London during the blitzes, workers who staffed canteens, bus conductresses, drivers who carried on night after night during the raids, airmen who fought enemy planes in the skies over London and servicemen and women from all the Allies. Queen Mary travelled to London from Badminton, Gloucestershire, where she has lived throughout the war, to attend the thanksgiving service in St. Paul’s with the King and Queen. Services are being held at St. Paul’s at intervals today. The King’s

broadcast is being relayed in the Cathedral tonight. Their Majesties reappeared on the palace balcony at 3 a.m. for a few minutes. Later, the floodlights were switched off and the crowds then began gradually to disperse. UNRESTRAINED JOLLITY London tonight gave itself up to unrestrained jollity and merrymaking. Crowds converged by bus, tubes and on foot on the heart of the city until this was literally blocked and areas far from Piccadilly had to take and satisfy the overflow. For instance, Fleet Street late at night was crowded with merrymakers who had no chance of getting to Buckingham Palace. Happy crowds made a living picture in which the predominant colours were service uniforms. Tonight’s Court Circular contains the following paragraph: The King and Queen were afforded the greatest pleasure by the loyal greetings of the vast concourse of people assembled outside Buckingham Palace today to celebrate the successful termination of hostilities in Europe. The police estimated the crowd at Whitehall when Mr Churchill made his impromptu speech at about 50,000. On this basis the crowds in the West End tonight must be many hundreds of thousands. The police in the afternoon stopped traffic on all roads converging on Trafalgar Square which then and all evening was a solid mass of people. Pigeons, which were unable to find a landing ground, wheeled overhead, bewildered by the noise of rattles and fireworks. Young people were crushed together and danced inch by inch around the fountains. People crawled over the lions at the foot of Nelson’s Column, and others shinned up the flagstaffs. Overhead bombers swooped and dipped and made the onlookers hold their breath for fear of a collision with Nelson’s Column. The manager of a Knightsbridge firm said: “Half of our cars have been pushed over or turned upside down. The remaining drivers refuse to go out.” Another firm reported many cases of damage as a result of the hilarity. In Oxford Circus to the Marble Arch tonight there is one long, impenetrable, moving wall of people. Police guarded the entrance to tube stations, allowing only one estimated trainload to enter at a time. FINE WEATHER Fortunately, the day and evening were fine. Thousands revelled in Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and picknicked with their own food and danced to the music of accordeons and mouth organs. A crowd of 10,000 listened to the relay of the King’s speech in Parliament Square. Some women were in tears at the end of the speech when the National Anthem was played. Sixty thousand people in deep silence in Trafalgar Square heard the King’s speech relayed through loudspeakers. Then bareheaded they sang the National Anthem. It was a supreme moment. The cheering has probably never been surpassed. The crowds echoed it in Whitehall and The Strand, and far in the distance another huge crowd heard the speech relayed outside Buckingham Palace, after which fainting women and men also were attended by ambulance men under the Press gallery at the Victoria Memorial. These were victims of the crush. Some were soaked to the skin with perspiration and their clothes were torn. They had to be lifted on the shoulders of the closely packed spectators. The police estimated that 100,000 were present. As midnight and the hour of cease fire throughout Europe approached, the excitement grew. Coloured rockets flew into the air from Hyde Park and other open spaces. London was liberally decorated with flags and banners, and many buildings were floodlit, but no more lovely spectacle was anywhere to be seen than St. Paul’s tonight, its dignified facade and dome was floodlit and with a searchlight shining on it. Fleet Street had its own appropriate method of celebration with streamers of ticker tape. Masses of thin, long strips of paper were hung from the windows. The paper was caught up by the crowd and carried to the West En'd. Women and children gathered armfuls. Fleet Street resembled a country fair ground. There was continuous shouting and marching in Fleet Street during the evening, and bonfires were lit from paper at the corner of Salisbury Court and elsewhere. The crowds everywhere became merrier as midnight approached. Effigies of Hitler and other Nazis were burned on bonfires and processions were held with improvised bands and banners. One was headed by a man dressed as a clown carrying an enormous scarlet umbrella on which was the word “Victory.” The palace facade was floodlit at 10 p.m. There were tired children everywhere. Many slept in each others arms.