00:00I speak to you today at the same hour as my father did exactly 75 years ago.
00:07His message then was a salute to the men and women at home and abroad
00:12who had sacrificed so much in pursuit of what he rightly called a great deliverance.
00:20The war had been a total war.
00:23It had affected everyone and no one was immune from its impact.
00:28Whether it be the men and women called up to serve, families separated from each other
00:34or people asked to take up new roles and skills to support the war effort, all had a part to
00:42play.
00:44At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain.
00:53But we kept faith that the cause was right.
00:56And this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through.
01:03Never give up, never despair.
01:05That was the message of VE Day.
01:09I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents
01:15and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
01:19The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound.
01:26Though while we celebrated the victory in Europe, we knew there would be further sacrifice.
01:33It was not until August that fighting in the Far East ceased and the war finally ended.
01:41Many people laid down their lives in that terrible conflict.
01:46They fought so we could live in peace, at home and abroad.
01:51They died so we could live as free people in a world of free nations.
01:57They risked all, so our families and neighbourhoods could be safe.
02:02We should and will remember them.
02:07As I now reflect on my father's words and the joyous celebrations which some of us experienced
02:14first hand, I am thankful for the strength and courage that the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth
02:21and all our allies displayed.
02:24The wartime generation knew that the best way to honour those who did not come back from
02:29the war was to ensure that it didn't happen again.
02:35The greatest tribute to their sacrifice is that countries who were once sworn enemies are
02:40now friends, working side by side for the peace, health and prosperity of us all.
02:49Today, it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish.
02:55Instead, we remember from our homes and our doorsteps.
03:00But our streets are not empty.
03:02They are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.
03:07And when I look at our country today and see what we are willing to do to protect and support
03:13one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and
03:21airmen would recognise and admire.
03:26I send my warmest good wishes to you all.
03:28I send my warmest good wishes to you all.
03:28And this handsk slider colours, it is very very useful to you all.
03:29David brother, Chris Hoover, is 0.8665.
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