When I volunteered to write a series of twelve blogs on “London at War” I had no idea if my ancient memory would cope. I have now decided that this will be the last insta- llment, but in order to keep my promise, the blog for March will be an article I wrote recently for The New Milton Times newspaper as a “Christian Comment”.
Now, back to the war. For several weeks the allied forces had been on the offensive. Naturally our radios were kept on permanently awaiting the latest news bulletin. On 30th April 1945 news came through that allied troops had surrounded Berlin and, in order to avoid capture and become a prisoner of war, Adolf Hitler had committed suicide!! After nearly six years of conflict, imagine the excitement – and the questions. “Will Germany surrender?” “How long before our loved ones serving abroad return?” On 7th May General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of ALL GERMAN FORCES! The next newspapers had the headlines “GERMANY QUITS”. Britain went wild with excitement, delight and relief. Nomal radio programmes were interrupted to announce that 8th May was be a National holiday – great news, and a day I will never forget. Dorothy and me, (young newly weds), wondered what we should do on our day off. We felt it would be good to join the many thousands of cheering revellers outside Buckingham Palace in the hope of seeing the Royal Family come to the palace balcony.When they did I let out a mighty bellow of a shout (my voice was much louder then!) and it seemed to me that His Majesty immediately turned his head in my direction. Or was it just my imagination? Street parties, bunting, hugging, kissing, etc were enjoyed by so many uniformed personnel, so thankful that the war was finallly over.
I am writing these closing words at 9.40pm on Thursday 27th January (Holocaust Memorial Day) and I am wrestling with two questions:- Were the allies victorious? And “did we win the war? I think it is pretty obvious that the brutal, vile Nazi regime had been crushed, but it is quite widely believed that a war is never won, a view which I can fully understand. Millions of lives, properties, businesses had paid a terrible price for our freedom and the brutallity inflicted on Jews in the concentration camps makes our blood curl. These thoughts lead me to consider the Christian message. As Jesus hung on the Cross He “cried out with a loud voice it is finished”. By His crucifixion and resurrection He had conquered satan, and all who turn to Jesus in faith can know deliverence from sin and condemnation! Thank You, Thank You JESUS!! We await the day when satan signs the final unconditional surrender